Hotter Than Hell : Tokyo Ablaze
by Watanagashi-hen
Summary: A beautiful day, shook up with some small tremors. A beautiful night, destroyed by something that thwarts everyone's imagination. Crossover, read to find out with what. Rated T for mild language, disaster and possible character death.
1. Nervous

_Booyah! Greetings and welcome to my official 3rd fic!_

_Yes, as you have read in the summary, it is a crossover. But the category for the thing I'm crossing it with doesn't exist. So, I'm keeping it a secret to you. If you get where I'm going at, read the author's notes way down below before reviewing._

_BTW : text in italics are the character's thoughts  
_

_Well, make sure you R&R, but most of all, enjoy!  
_

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Chapter 1 : Nervous

_Friday July 13__th__ 2001 ; 07:47 AM._

Everything in Kagura's head was just dandy. Today was the last of the 1st term exams. Math at that, the one subject that she sucked the most at. To make it even better, it was a Friday the 13th! There was no doubt in her mind that she was gonna botch it up, even though she studied like a nutcase last night. Because of this, she didn't catch much sleep.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and stepped in her shoes. It was very unlike her to skip breakfast, but she was so nervous that she couldn't get a single bite through her throat if she tried. She grabbed her suitcase, made sure she got everything and held the case over her shoulder.

"Mom! Dad! I'm leaving now! See ya later!"

"Okay sweetheart. Good luck with the test!" she heard her mother call out for her, just before she pulled the front door shut behind her.

She stood on the porch right in front of the door. She inhaled deeply and looked up to sky.

"At least the weather is nice."

Summers in Japan can be a really hot experience, expecially when you live in Tokyo. Today was no exception, hardly any clouds, and the ones that were there were as white as snow. A scorching sun peeped up from above the buildings and radiated her face. This early in the morning, and already temperatures reaching almost 30 degrees celsius. Great effects on the thinking capability of a person.

Kagura walked through the busy streets with her suitcase still flung over her left shoulder. For once, there was only one thing going through her mind. That damn math exam!

_Why do we even need that? I know I'm not going to need something like math the way I'm going._

Kagura was a devoted member of the swim team, and she figured she might as well do something in that direction. She was no good at school anyway, except for P.E. of course, the only one rivalling her being Sakaki. But she never liked the idea of being a drop-out, because it's her policy to never give up. She had to get through this somehow. The exam today wasn't the deciding one, but she at least had to try her best!

The worries were slowly eating her up inside, but in the back of her head, she got a feeling of joy. When this was over, it would be summer vacation. A whole month of relaxing, chilling out, going to Chiyo's summerhouse perhaps, and...studying...

_Crap! Mid-term exams! Will they ever get off my back?!_

But oh the irony, because just when she thought that, she was apparently jumped from behind with a loud cheer, almost making her lose her ballance. There was no doubt who this person was, who else could it be!

"Hiya busty one! How's it going?"

She was right.

"Dammit Tomo! Will you stop doing that? I could have fallen down!"

Tomo clinged her arms around her slightly taller friend. "Fallen? You? The athletic wonder can't even handle little ol' me?" she teased.

"I tried to stop her but she was gone before I knew it" a voice sounded behind them.

Kagura and Tomo looked behind to see Yomi marching up as calm as usual. "Now you know what I go through every morning."

"Ah, Yomi-san, good morning!" Kagura smiled as she elbowed Tomo off her.

"Morning Kagura-san. Are you ready for the test?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I studied really hard, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm gonna mess it up" she chuckled. To this, Tomo started laughing out loud obnoxiously.

"Poor, poor Kagura. Don't you know what day it is today? It's Friday the 13th! Everything is going to go wrong today, and you went through all that trouble."

She started poking Kagura on the cheek.

"No matter how hard you try, it's not gonna work today. Which means that you pretty much wasted a whole night. I feel sorry for you."

Annoyed, Kagura knocked Tomo's hand away. "Maybe for you Takino! I bet you didn't do anything last night. You're going to fail, that's for sure. I, however, at least tried. You knucklehead!"

Tomo took a step back shocked. "Knucklehead?! Me?! Remember which one of us got the highest score on the English test last year?"

"One point Tomo! That was only one freakin' point!"

"So? I still got a higher score than you, it doesn't matter how many points difference! Stupid! Stupid!"

"Oh it so does. You just got lucky, that's all! Today I'm totally going to cream you, just you watch!"

"Haha! Sure, whatever, stupid!"

"Shut up you numbnut!!!"

Yomi walked past the bickering duo with a sigh. Maybe it was best to leave these two here. That would save her a headache, and she could miss that today.

"Stop arguing you two. I'm leaving you here."

Having finally made it in school, Kagura, Tomo and Yomi walked into the classroom. Sakaki was already sitting at her bench and was silently looking outside, no sign of stress whatsoever. Meanwhile, Osaka and Chiyo were having a discussion about jellyfish, and if they actually used them to make jelly. A conversation that may have been a little bit too much for Chiyo to handle.

"Good morning everyone!" Tomo broke up the relative silence in the classroom with a big smile.

"Oh, good morning!" Chiyo sparkled. "You guys ready for the test?"

"Sure I am!" Tomo cried out.

"Easy for you to say Tomo" Yomi grunted. "You barely did anything for it. But then again you don't really care do you?"

"Hey, it's almost summer break! What do you expect of me?" she snarled back.

"Maybe work a little before relaxing? You're gonna be doing this schoolyear again if you keep this up."

Tomo wanted to say something really mean back, but just shrugged instead. "Friday the 13th, unlucky day. There's really no point see?"

"Again with that superstition crap? Stop using it as an excuse to slack off!" Kagura responded.

Then, Osaka joined the conversation. "Don't you think it's really weird that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day? Maybe something really bad happened on one of those days, and they've been believing it ever since."

"Maybe something with a black cat? They say a black cat brings bad luck" Chiyo added.

Sakaki sat silently at her desk, overhearing the conversation. She glanced at her hand, that was once again in bandages and her eyes widened.

"It couldn't be..." she murmured softly.

Kagura sighed. "I already had a run in with a black cat. A Wildcat!"

Tomo grinned and gave a peace sign.

"Well, the number 13 is an unlucky number on it's own, but I don't know why Friday" said Yomi.

"It's funny, but usually, a Friday the 13th is a lucky day for me. Maybe I have a chance today!" Osaka announced with a hopeful smile.

"You think?" Tomo and Kagura said in unison.

"I see, the bad luck has a reversed effect on Osaka. That's one of her few powers!" Tomo said as if she made the discovery of the century.

"I wish I had that. You think you're going to pass?" said Kagura in full admiration.

"Well, we'll see!"

Yomi marched up to her desk and got her equipment ready. "They're both so gullible..."

A few minutes and a few pointless conversation later, the homeroom teacher Yukari busted through the sliding doors. With an irritated face, she stomped towards her desk and slammed the pile of exam documents on it. She stood there with one hand supporting on the desk, and the other one placed on her side. Suddenly, her agitated expression turned into an evil, ominous smile. Everyone already knew what this meant, but noone said a word.

"Heehee. I bet you're all very excited that summer break is starting, but you know what? I never go out without a bang!" she smirked while cracking her knuckles. "I hope you all studied, and studied hard, because man oh man, you're going to need it."

In a matter of seconds, several heads landed on the desk in front of them with small bangs. One of them, was Kagura, who feared this moment the worst. Yukari sure was a sadistic witch sometimes.

"That pretty much erases all hope for some students in my class, such as..." she paused and diverted her gaze to Tomo. Tomo at her turn just smiled and waved.

"Yes, you Takino, you're screwed! Anyway, let's not waste any time and get started. I suppose you prefer the short pain after all."

The whole class sweatdropped.

Yukari sure wasn't kidding. This test was as hard as nails! Every minute, there was at least one sigh that filled up the silence. Kagura sat with her hand in her hair, ticking the edge of her pen against her fingers.

_Okay, let's see here. Keep it cool Kagura_

Tomo was chewing the end of her pen. So far, most of the stuff she wrote down was complete nonsense that she made up on the spot in order not to deliver a test that was completely blank. There were some things she knew, but those were just minorities. Osaka was simply staring at her paper, and sometimes gested to writing something down, but pulled back again each time. Yomi, Chiyo and Sakaki didn't seem to be having too many problems, but they felt that it was still pretty hard, and Chiyo probably wasn't going to get a straight hundred this time. After a few minutes, Kagura's face suddenly shone.

_Wait, of course! I know this!_

She started scribbling at a fast pace, feeling content of herself that she managed to remember this. After that, the next obstacle was the next math problem, and she once again started thinking deeply. But then, she felt something odd. A small rumble, hardly noticeable, made her look up. She looked around to see if anyone else noticed, but they were all glued to their exams. All except Tomo, who looked up as well.

Kagura looked at her and moved her mouth without making any sound. "Did you just feel that?"

Tomo nodded slightly, and then looked up startled when Yukari's voice roared through the classroom.

"Takino! Kagura! Keep your eyes on your paper! One more time and you can hand it in immediately!"

"Y-y-yes ma'm! Sorry ma'm" they both stuttered.

Kagura decided to make nothing of it and returned her glance at her paper. Not even a minute later, it happened again. This time it was noticebly bigger, and was accompanied with a slight grumble. Kagura once again looked up and saw that this time, she wasn't the only one who felt it.

"Did anyone else feel that?" a voice of a boy sounded.

"A quake!" another responded.

Yukari however wasn't impressed by the tremor. "Hush! It's just a small one, don't get all excited about it! Just keep your mouths shut and keep working!" she disciplined.

Her words weren't even cold yet, when a terrifying roar emerged from the ground. Only a fraction of a second later, the classroom started shaking violently. The rumbling sound gradually got louder, and pens and other equipment tumbled to the ground.

"Oh crap! Everyone under your desks, and don't even think about peeking!" Yukari yelled, before diving down under her own desk.

The rest followed her in this and seeked shelter under their respective desks. The wooden legs clattered and trembled against the flooring, and the whole room was filled with a constant rattling from the shaking desks and windows. To some, it seemed like the end of the world, but as fast as it came, it went. After about 8 seconds, the tremor died down and everything went quiet again.

Everyone crawled from under their desks, including Yukari who was brushing herself off.

"Well, that wasn't so bad now was it? Nice little diversion, now get back to work. You can start chattering when you're done."

"Wow, straight to the point!" Yomi commented.

After another hour, everyone had turned in their papers. The topic afterwards mostly wasn't about the exams for once, but about the scary experience they just went through.

"Oh man, that one was kinda big huh?" said Tomo while sitting on Kagura's desk.

"Meh, there have been worse. This one was probably a small one compared to others" the sporty girl replied.

"Hmm, suppose you're right. So, how did it go?"

Tomo changed to a subject that Kagura didn't really like to talk about. "Ehm...ehh well...it was okay I guess."

"Liar" Tomo grinned.

"Okay, it was pretty bad. You?"

"I killed it, what did you think? It's what I call Tomo math, it only makes sense to me! What about you guys?" she turned to Yomi, Osaka, Sakaki and Chiyo.

"I had a blackout..." Osaka wailed.

"Pretty good" was Yomi's answer.

"Okay" Sakaki answered, short but sweet.

"Well, it was pretty hard, but I guess I did fine" was of course Chiyo's reply.

"So, what did you think about the earthquake, pretty thrilling huh?" Tomo once again reverted the subject.

"You sure are optimistic, and was that supposted to be a pun?" said Yomi.

"That was scary! I couldn't focus at all afterwards!" Osaka responded.

"Like you could focus to begin with. But yeah, it was probably just a Shindo 3, maybe 4. Nothing too bad. But I gotta say it surprised me."

As the six discussed the happening, Yukari was making sure she got every copy. After that, she really didn't feel like staying.

"Okidoki. I'm going to show you that I'm not a heartless wench and let you go for the day. Enjoy your summer break!"

Yukari's announcement was received with a loud cheering by the whole class. And everyone began storming out of the classroom.

"Yo, Yukari-sensei!" Tomo stuck out her hand as she approached her. "The six of us are going out this evening to celebrate!"

"Oh really? What are YOU celebrating Tomo-chan? Your imminent failure?" she grinned in response.

Yukari expected her to be angry or agitated, but instead she was still laughing. "Haha, sensei, you've got a million of 'em. I meant to ask you if you wanted to come along too. And bring Nyamo-chan too!"

"Students going out with their teacher? What's going on here? Sure I'll be there, so I can make sure you kids don't start drinking" she smiled.

"Aww geez sensei, you're no fun. I'm having regrets asking you already!"

"Too late!" she cried out. "Where and when?"

"City center, 9 PM"

"Gotcha! I'll go get Nyamo and tell her. Now get out of here, all of you!"

_12:36 PM_

The girls had stopped to get something to eat before moving on. By now, they've all had phonecalls from their parents regarding the earthquake earlier. Typical worried parent phonecalls. Are you alright? Nothing dropped on your head right? Were you scared? And so on. They were about to move on afterwards, but they were halted by a voice calling out for them from behind.

"Ah, wait up! Wait for me!"

Running towards them from the end of the street was their ex-classmate Kaorin, eager to catch up with the group, and most particular, Sakaki. She hit her brakes right in front of them and panted heavily.

"I...saw you...go out a while ago. I finally...caught up" she said between gasps.

"Ah, Kaorin-chan! Did they set you free too? How did it go?"Yomi asked.

"Te...terrible!" she caught her breath again. "Not the exam, but that Kimura was gawking at me the entire time! It was seriously freaking me out! Say, did you guys feel that earthquake?"

"Well duh!" Tomo reacted. "The whole room was shaking, how could we have missed that?"

"When the quake started, Kimura, he..." she muttered.

"He what?" Chiyo asked suspiciously.

"He...he shouted 'Don't worry Kaorin, I will save you!' all over the class!"

The group remained silent at this, that must have been really awkward.

"I don't know what's worse, the earthquake or that comment" she wailed with tears flowing down her face like waterfalls.

"Poor you" Kagura chuckled.

"Tell you what. We're going out this evening to celebrate the end of the term. Wanna come too?" Tomo patted her on the shoulder.

Kaorin gave a thoughtful look, then pulled Tomo in and whispered in her ear.

"Is Sakaki-san coming too?"

"Well, yeah!"

"I'm in!" she yelled.

"Great! Awesome! We meet at the city center at 9 PM. Don't be late!" Tomo smiled.

"Are you kidding? Of course I won't be late! Not when Sak...err I mean... It's been while since I've gone out!" she laughed blushing. "Well, gotta go now, see ya this evening!"

She ran off the opposite way and waved them goodbye. The others stood there a bit baffled.

"Strange girl huh?" Kagura lisped.

They all nodded in unison.

As soon as she made it across the corner, Kaorin slammed her head in the palm of her hand.

_Stupid! Stupid! I almost blurted that out in front of her. I got to watch out what I'm saying! That was so embarrassing._

She grumbled a bit and started walking again.

_Darn, it's just becoming a bit too much for me. What the hell am I going to do? I can't just go on like this, I'm going crazy! But wait!_

Her face slowly started to cheer up again.

_We're all going out tonight. Maybe I should... Oh who am I kidding. I'm too much of a chicken for that. What if she doesn't..._

She shook her head.

_No, I gotta get myself together! This is too much of an opportunity to pass up. I just have to think of the words to say! That's it!_

Her face now beaming, she already started to gather her courage.

_Tonight! I'm going to do it tonight! I'm finally going to tell Sakaki-san how I feel! I'm going to turn this unlucky day into the day of truth! Just you wait, Sakaki-san. This will be the best day of my life...I hope..._

With that, she continued to march home.

_06:22 PM_

Kagura just had an argument with her parents. When she told them that her exam didn't exactly go smoothly, they were more than a little bit upset. It wasn't the first one that she probably was going to fail either. Kagura let herself fall on her bed. She understood that her parents were angry, it's what most parents tend to do. But accusing her of not even trying? She was trying her best! She started studying at 2 PM and stopped at 3 AM, but it still didn't do her any good. She felt sad on the inside, but comforted herself in knowing that she really tried. Now if only her parents realised that. She looked at the time on her alarm clock. She still had about two hours until she had to leave. But for now, she didn't really feel like moving.

_If only I was as smart as Chiyo-chan, or Yomi-san, or Sakaki-san. Then I wouldn't be letting my parents down like this..._

She hadn't really had the stomach to ask them if she was allowed to go out yet. But, she was determined to. She had no intention of staying at home while all her friends were having fun. She sat straight and headed towards her closet to look for something a bit more casual to wear. She flicked through her clothes and found a Slayer T-shirt she hadn't worn in quite a while. She grinned and took it out.

_The others aren't gonna believe their eyes when they see me in this. I bet they don't know I listen to some of the heavier stuff once in a while._

She nodded and threw it on her bed. Next, she grabbed a pair of regular jeans, her belt, and took out her black sneakers. She then made her way to the bathroom to get ready.

_06:41 PM_

Tomo had once again snuck inside Yomi's room through the window. She was already good to go, so she decided to leave together with her.

"So, what are your big plans?" Yomi asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Oh, nothing really, just hang out, get a couple of drinks, have a few laughs, annoy people" the smaller one sitting on the bed responded.

"You're not annoying me tonight! I feel like having some fun just like you, so keep me out of it okay? Annoy Yukari-sensei instead." The spectacled one chuckled.

"Well I can't promise you anything, but I'll try. Shouldn't you get ready? Like, put on something decent?"

Yomi glanced at her with venomous eyes. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing, it's just not really appropriate for going out is all."

Yomi pulled her gaze away from Tomo and to her own clothes. "Maybe you're right... But I'm not changing when you're in my room."

Tomo rolled her eyes and gave a small snicker. "Pfff, oh come on. We've had P.E. and even swimming together. It's not like I've never seen you in your underwear before."

Yomi knew she was right, but she still didn't really feel comfortable with it. Her complexes have run deeper lately because she has gained some weight when she last checked. Those damn Korean barbeques!

"Okay fine, but turn around" she sighed.

"Man, so prudish. What's up with you, it's like you've gained weight again" Tomo laughed while turning around.

From behind her back, she could hear Yomi choking softly. Tomo understood and grinned.

"Oh so you did huh? Letting yourself go again lately? Constant battle with the scale huh? I understand, someone like you can't possibly resis.." Tomo's taunts were cut off with a surprise shoe to the head.

_07:05 PM_

Osaka was killing time by surfing the internet. She was looking up some information about earthquakes, because that's what intrigued her at that moment. The one that occured today made her think of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. In Osaka, that quake was senseable as a 4 on the Shindo scale. The one today wasn't as powerful if she remembered right, but it was still pretty close.

_I wonder... if that one was the real one, or just a foreshock..._

She pondered about this, but then got track of the time again. She still had to go to Chiyo's place to pick her up, because she didn't want to go alone in the evening. Osaka flung open a window to let some of the cooling air inside, and got dressed.

_08:00 PM_

Kagura was all set, and if everything went right, Sakaki would be waiting for her just a block away. Now she just to get out of the house succesfully. She walked down the stairs and motioned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" a voice sounded behind her.

Kagura turned around and faced her mom, who caught her sneaking out.

"Me and my friends are going out for the end of the term" she answered bluntly.

"I see, and you didn't bother telling me?" her mother responded sharp.

"Well, seeing you were so pissed and would have just said no, no, I didn't!"

"In that case missy, you can just stay here for the rest of the night. That will teach you to keep things from me."

Kagura clenched her fist and started snarling at her. "You're kidding right? No way am I staying here while the others are having fun!"

"You should have thought of that in the first place!" her mom now yelled.

"You know what? Forget it! I don't need your permission! I'm going anyway! Just try to stop me!"

"I am your mother, and as long as you live in this house, you will do as I say, understood?"

Kagura turned around and reached for the knob, turned it and opened it.

"Hey! What did I just say! You'd better not leave here if you know what's good for you!"

Kagura turned her head angrily and shouted out loud enough for the neighbours to hear."

"DROP DEAD!!!"

She then slammed the door shut behind her loudly and ran up to the street, leaving her mother behind speechless.

As she marched towards where Sakaki was waiting for her, tears were welling up in her eyes.

_Now I've done it. I just had to go there. Why couldn't I just keep my big yap shut! My mom is never gonna let me in the house again now. I'm sorry..._

Kagura wiped the tears away. She wanted to keep this to herself, and she didn't want anyone else to see she was crying. Just around the corner of the street she was in, Sakaki was waiting, leaning against the concrete fence. She met up with her and made their way to the city, where they had appointed to meet eachother.

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Wata: There ya go! First chapter of my newest project! Just wanted to try something else for a change. Some personal struggles here and there, but believe me, this is just the very beginning, a prologue if you will. Like I said, it's a crossover with something that I'm still keeping a secret, but if the story so far rang a bell to you, please do not spoil it in the reviews.

Tomo : Us again? How many stories could you come up with that involve us?

Wata: Believe me, you have no idea. Stay tuned for the next one!


	2. Unlucky Day

_Chapter 2_

_I worked pretty hard on this, just a sign that I'm back in business._

_Not the longest one I've ever written, but it's a lot longer than the first one._

_Read, review, and enjoy!  
_

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Chapter 2 : Unlucky Day

_08:12 PM_

_Oh man, oh man! I can't do this! I swear I'm gonna throw up!_

Kaorin's stomach felt like it was twisting and turning all the way around as she walked through the quiet and peaceful streets. Like she told herself, she was finally going to confess to Sakaki this evening. But although she left her home excited only a minute ago, she was now having a nervous breakdown, bordering to hyperventilation. She constantly gulped, and her whole body was vibrating out of control. She had departed a little sooner, because she figured at least Tomo would be showing up early, since she seemed so excited about it. But what did she care? Her main focus tonight would be the love of her life.

_Sakaki-san, there's something I want to say to you... No, that's not it! Sakaki-san, I know this is gonna sound strange, but... No! Even worse!_

She recited the words she was going to say to her in her head, but none of them sounded right. She was even considering aborting the 'operation'.

_Oh God, what the hell am I gonna do?!_

_08:32 PM_

The buildings gradually became taller and the lights more colourful and beautiful. Tokyo by evening was indeed a breathtaking sight, even this early, but this was only just a teaser for what it looked like by night. Bright neonlights, ranging from all colours imaginable, litted up the city like christmas lights in a tree, as the sun slowly crawled away towards the horizon. Sakaki walked next to Kagura, and noticed that the normally always so talkative girl was suspiciously quiet. She could sense that something was bothering her.

"Kagura-san, is something wrong?" she finally asked.

Kagura, who was walking with her hands stuffed in her pockets, looked like she was ripped out of a deep thought. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just a little bit tired because I didn't sleep much last night."

Sakaki replied with a simple "Oh". Her eyes did look a bit sleepy, but she somehow sensed that that wasn't the real reason why she was so silent.

_Maybe she had problems at home..._

"If you're worried about me, don't be. I'm fine, really! I guess it's just the exams that have been getting to me. I guess this night out may be just what I need!" she smiled.

Sakaki smiled back to her, a reassured expression returning to her face. But somewhere inside, Kagura knew that Sakaki understood what was going on. It wasn't the first time that her parents gave her such a tongue-lashing, and she had even told Sakaki about this once when she bursted out crying during lunchtime. But ever since, she has been keeping it to herself. She didn't want to bother Sakaki with it, nor get her involved into it. But today, she had made the situation so much worse.

_Maybe I should tell her again..._

_08:36 PM_

Near the center of the Shinjuku region, a pedestrian pulled on his cigarette one last time before throwing it to the pavement, not bothering to extinguish it. Suddenly, a girl dashed right past him with a small dust cloud following her, crushing the butt under her foot. The figure bumped into several people, getting many 'hey, watch where you're going!' reactions. The girl stopped at nothing, until she reached the main plaza of the shopping district. She stepped on her brakes and started jumping up into the air.

"Woohoo! Alright! I won!" Tomo cheered out loud.

About 30 seconds later, Yomi caught up with her, walking as calmly as ever.

"Guess you owe me that drink Koyomi-kun!"

"I never agreed to anything! And only you could turn something as trivial as this into a race" Yomi replied annoyed.

"Hey now, don't be a sore loser. A bet is a bet!" Tomo chirped.

"I never made a bet, you moron!"

"Aw geez, fine then! I'll find some other way to make you buy me one, don't worry!"

Yomi facepalmed, and a small throbbing vein appeared above her head.

"But hey, at least we made it here first, right?"

"Haha! No you didn't!" a familiar voice sounded from behind them.

There was Yukari, with a wide smile on her face, and a can of booze clenched in her hand.

"Ah! Sensei! How long have you been here?" Tomo cried out surprised.

"About 15 minutes. Figured I might as well go get an appetizer while waiting for you slowpokes" she giggled, and took another big gulp.

"Drinking already? And where's Kurosawa-sensei? Did she come along?" Yomi asked.

Yukari emmited a loud gasp and wiped the bitter liquid off her mouth. "Oh yeah, dunno where she is now though. When I saw her last she was flirting with some guy she said looked cute. And just between you and me" Yukari moved in closer and cupped her hand next to her mouth, "she has been drinking more than me already! Hehe."

"Oh, really? Drunk and flirting huh? And the party hasn't even begun!" Tomo laughed. "Oh, here she comes right now!"

Minamo, known better as Nyamo, strolled down towards the group with a small platter of takoyaki in one hand, and a toothpick with a ball on it with a bite already taken out of it. When she saw Yomi and Tomo standing in the company of Yukari, she quickly swallowed and smiled warmly.

"Oh, Mizuhara-san, Takino-san, good evening!"

Tomo immediately clenched her fist, threw it in front of her, and started cheering loudly.

"Nyamo-chan! Go you! We heard what happened, and all I can say is, congrats!"

Nyamo's head slowly turned 90 degrees to the left, with eyes half shut. "What have been telling them?"

Yukari started laughing obnoxiously. "Hahahahaha! Nothing, just what I saw you doing! Oh come on, admit it, you were totally going for it!"

"Going for what?! What are you talking about?!"

"That guy! You were flirting with him!"

"No I wasn't!" she yelled flustered.

"Then what were chatting about so nicely?"

"I was asking him if he could exchange some money to buy these takoyaki from the vending machine, since you apparently only had some ten thousand Yen bills on you!"

"Why apparently?!" the other snarled.

"Because you already paid for that booze you're holding, so that leads me to believe you did have smaller change on you!"

"No I didn't! Well, I do now, but that's completely beside the point!"

Tomo and Yomi shrugged at eachother.

"I guess the story wasn't true, too bad..." Tomo said with a hint of disapointment.

"Well, at least admit that you have been drinking even before we got here!"

"What?!"

_08:40 PM_

Not too far from the center, Osaka and Chiyo marched between the illuminated mile-high scyscrapers.

"Thanks again for picking me up Osaka-san. My parents thought it was too dangerous to go out to the city alone" Chiyo smiled.

"Ah, no problem! To be honest, I'm a little nervous everytime I get here. The buildings are so big and there's so many people around." The space cadet smiled back.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But I feel a bit safer when you're around."

Osaka just nodded and hummed, then changed the subject.

"I just hope we're not getting any more earthquakes! Did you know that there's a crack right beneath Tokyo?"

"Oh, you mean a fault?"

"Yeah, that! Every time that fault scrapes, the earth starts shaking, right?"

"Uhuh."

Osaka stopped in her tracks and got a somewhat serious look on her face.

"So what if it starts scraping again? What if there are more quakes to come?"

"Ahh... Osaka-san, you really shouldn't be thinking like that..." the little girl replied frightened and worried.

"Think about it! A really big one! And then, lava comes up and..."

"Wait, what? Don't be silly Osaka-san, that's impossible!" Chiyo snickered.

"It is?"

"Yeah!"

Osaka sighed in relief. "That's good. I wouldn't want to deal with something like that, since it's so hot and stuff."

With that, they started walking again.

_Osaka-san sure has a wild imagination sometimes..._

_08:45 PM_

Back at the Shinjuku center, Nyamo had finished up her evening snack, except for the ones that Yukari had stolen. This led to yet another argument, but then Yukari's irritation turned to Tomo, who had attempted to snatch her wallet several times. And when those two forces collide, it can turn into a very noisy situation. Not long after that, both Kagura and Sakaki made it to the scene.

"Oh, it's the busty one and the even bustyer one! You made it!" Tomo cried out.

Sakaki started blushing like usual, and Kagura slapped her hand on her face annoyed.

"Will you stop calling me that?!"

"So, are you guys ready to party? See some of Tokyo's nightlife? Nice shirt by the way."

"Sure am!" said Kagura. "And thanks! Had it in my drawer and figured I might as well wear it again."

"Haha, Slayer huh? I didn't know you were such a rock chick. Looks good on you. RAINING BLOOOOOOOOD!!!" Tomo screamed.

Kagura was a bit amazed that she knew that song, but decided to fill in on it, if just for the hell of it. That's what friends do anyway.

"From the lacerated sky! Bleeding its horror!"

"Creating my structure, now I shall REIGN IN BLOOD!" They both sang from the top of their lungs, their index and pinky finger raised in the air.

"Epic guitar solo comes here!"

The others stood by stupified as the dynamic duo busted out the air guitars and started shredding like maniacs, which looked silly because there was no music. Sakaki smiled at the spectacle because it was the first time this evening that she saw Kagura genuinely happy.

"Wow, what was that?" Yomi commented.

_08:47 PM_

Checking the watch on her still shaking arm, Kaorin walked through the busy city streets. She was relieved that she was going to make it in time. On the way here, she had to squirm herself through some tight packs of pedestrians, but here, there was a lot more room to breathe.

_The businessmen must be on their way home..._

She took a couple of deep breaths, calming herself down. She couldn't appear before her friends as a nervous wreck, and deffinetely not in front of Sakaki. She had figured it all out. The only thing she had to do was to sepparate Sakaki from the rest for a while, so she could be alone with her. Then, she was gonna give it to her straight. No more beating around the bush, she was just going to tell her how she felt. If she was lucky enough, maybe Sakaki felt the same way, or she would at least give it a chance. She would be happy enough with the latter. It had occured to her that perhaps Sakaki doesn't swing that way, and although she didn't like that thought, she was going to go through with it anyway.

_Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be..._

"Koarin!" a voice shook her out of her daydream.

She looked behind to see Osaka and Chiyo marching up to her.

"Ah, Osaka-san, Chiyo-chan. Good evening!"

"Good to see you could make it. It's been a while since we all got to go do something all together huh?" said Chiyo.

"Hehe, yes. That's why I really wanted to come along." Kaorin smiled.

_Way to tell a lie! Think they figured it out by now?_

"That's great! We should be going now. If we're late, Tomo-chan will never let us hear the end of it" the small girl giggled.

The three continued their pace, heading for the city center.

"Oh, that's right! I still have to thank Tomo-chan for inviting me! Who could have guessed that she's actually a nice person."

"She is a good person deep inside, she just rarely shows it. Tomo-chan just likes pulling pranks." Chiyo replied.

"Like the one where she threw the keys of your summer home into the forest? Or when she put the chair in front of you when you were falling asleep?" Osaka added.

"Y...yeah, like that..."

_08:48 PM_

Tomo suddenly sneezed loudly while looking over the sea of people clotting the Shinjuku center. She rubbed her nose and counted the group she was in once again.

"One, two, three, four, five and me included makes six. Three more to go. They'd better not be late!"

"What's up? You're not getting a cold are you? Yomi wondered.

"Nah, something just tickled my nose."

Kagura took out her cellphone in a 30 seconds interval like she was expecting a phone call or message any minute now. Sakaki was silently looking at the many illuminated billboards, and Yukari had just finished up her can of beer. Only a few minutes later, Nyamo spotted the last of the missing.

"Ah, there they are, all three of them!"

Tomo stook up her hand and waved it around wildly. "Yoohoo! Over here! Move your butts!"

"Hiya guys! Are we the last?" asked Osaka.

"Yep! But don't worry, you're still more than on time!"

Kaorin immediately moved closer to Sakaki the moment she joined up with the group, looking a bit flustered and nervous.

"Oh...ehh... th-thanks for inviting me Tomo-chan..."

"Hehe, no problem, no problem! The more, the merrier right?"

"Right!" Yomi joined. "Well now, since you brought up the whole idea, what are we gonna do Tomo-chan?"

Tomo thought for a moment, then came up with an idea.

"We could go to the Kabukicho district! It's close by and there's plenty of stuff to do there!"

"Kabukicho?" Kagura interrupted. "But isn't that a Red Light district?"

"Yep, it is..." said Yomi.

"Well, that's true, but there's plenty of other stuff to do there, trust me! Besides, it could be funny!" Tomo cheered.

Chiyo slightly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Ehm...what's a Red Li-"

"Ah! Well ehh... That's ehh... Y-you'll find out when you get older..." Yomi stammered.

Tomo's idea was a good one. Kabukicho was the place to be at this time of the day. A barrage of restaurants, bars, nightshops, Pachinko installments and other miscellaneous entertainment. They got something to eat, had laughs, teased eachother, had arguments, told jokes, and overall had a great time. But the night was still young, so they contemplated what to do next.

"So, what do you guys want to do next?" Tomo asked the group.

"Get something to drink, cause my mouth is about as dry as a dessert!" Kagura announced.

"Well, there are some vending machines around the corner" said Yomi.

"Hahahahaha! Oh Yomi, that's a good one! No, when you're on a night out, you don't get drinks from a vending machine, you go to a bar! Am I right or what?" the wildcat blurted.

Yukari, who saw this as a golden opportunity to use her favorite beverage, agreed. "Now you're talking Tomo-chan!"

"Yukari, could you turn down the volume a bit, please?" Nyamo snarled agitated.

"A bar huh? Well, fine, but it better be a decent one then. Not some second-hand hole with a sweaty bartender" Yomi reasoned.

_11:14 PM_

The group moved out of the crammed parts of Kabukicho to a place that was a lot calmer and a lot less crowded. Here, they found what they were looking for. A nice, clean pub, nothing too fancy, but not too shabby either. They figured this would do just nicely, and would be a great place to chill out from all the excitement. Four round fluorescent lamps on the ceiling, a pinball machine and a pooltable further in and a TV in the corner to the right of the bar, suspended by a steel arm. Behind the counter were dozens and dozens of bottles of liquor, placed behind glass shutters, and the bartender looked like just a regular guy, friendly and casual. At the tables in the corner were some more people, enjoying a drink, smoking a cigarette and chatting away. Through the speakers sounded old-school rock music, but it wasn't too loud so conversation was still very possible. So the nine girls walk into the bar and find themselves a nice spot at the counter.

"Beer please!" Yukari yelled.

"Yukari! You're not exactly putting up a good example for the kids you know!" Nyamo lectured her.

"Oh, look who's talking! Remember who got wasted last year at the brat's summer home? Right in front of the kids I might add!"

"I did that just so you wouldn't drink all that and tear the place down!"

"But you sure taught them a nice lesson or two!"

"I don't even remember that!"

Osaka sat down on the barstool, in between Tomo and Kagura.

"You know, Yukari sensei and Nyamo remind me alot of you two." She was looking at Yomi and Tomo when she said that.

"Yeah, I know. Tomo would be the annoying one, like Yukari." Yomi spoke as she pushed her glasses up.

"And Yomi would be the goody little two shoes, like Nyamo!" the other added.

"Goody little two shoes?"

Tomo threw her arm around her taller friend. "But you know? That's probably why we get along so well. Like they say, opposites attract, right?"

"Getting along is kind of a big word here..."

"Oh, like that thing with magnets huh?" Osaka commented with a dry tone.

"Y...yeah, like magnets..."

Meanwhile, Kaorin found herself sitting right next to Sakaki, on the left side of the counter. Being this close to her was just a little bit too much for her to handle, and she was constantly reminded of her mission. This caused her to freak out, but she tried her best not to show it. She at least had to try to engage in conversation, without losing it.

"S-so, Sakaki-san! How did the exams go?"

The tall, silent girl turned her head, with a bit of a surprised expression on her face.

"Oh, pretty good. Some of them were a bit harder, but still okay. What about you?"

"I-it was alright. Probably not as good as you but..." she answered flustered.

_It's really not a good idea to be sucking up like this Kaori, get it together!_

"D-did you have fun tonight?"

Sakaki just smiled and nodded.

"Good. Me too..."

Kaorin let her head hang down and fumbled around with her shirt.

_This isn't gonna work. I'm running out of things to say already! I should just... No, wait a little longer._

Kagura supported her head with her hand, elbow rested on the wooden counter. Her cellphone was right in front of her, the number of her house telephone typed in. She sighed and took a sip from her cola, then took the cellphone and gently tapped the dial button several times, but not hard enough to activate it.

_I wonder if they're still up..._

She wanted to call home to apologise, but something was holding her back. She was scared, scared of her mother's reaction after the stuff she pulled a couple of hours ago. After a couple of minutes of staring at the display, she sighed again and turned her gaze to the TV that was suspended to the right of her. The news was on, and the volume was loud enough for her to hear it.

"...in other news today, the explosion that occured around three twentyfour in the afternoon today beneath Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, is believed not to be caused by steam, but by something else. Experts are still determining what the substance is, but so far, the accident is believed to be caused by a broken gasspipe. The accident claimed 3 of the city worker's lives, and one was rushed to the hospital with severe burnwounds. His condition is stabilized, and he is held at the Tokyo University Medical Hospital extensive care. There is still unclarity if the Shindo 4 earthquake earlier this morning has any relationship with the accident."

_Gas explosion huh? Those poor guys..._

"Hey, Kagura! Why the long face girl?"

Without her even realizing it, Tomo was standing right by her side, a big smile on her face and a soda in her hand. Kagura swiftly turned her head startled and snapped her cellphone shut.

"Oh ehh... It's nothing! I guess I'm just tired..."

Tomo giggled for a bit, then formed a smirk. "You're a terrible liar. You've been awfully quiet all evening, and that's not like you. Tell aunt Tomo what's the matter."

Kagura sighed and held up her chin with her hand. "I guess you got me. I'm just really stressed out, because I...I think I really messed up..."

"Stressed out you say? Hang on, I got the perfect solution for that!" Tomo said while she moved behind her, cracked her fingers and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Huh? Hey, what are you doing?"

"Showing you one of my hidden powers. Now just chill out okay?" Tomo chirped. With that, she clenched her hand and gently squeezed her right below the neck.

At that moment, Kagura's eyes opened wide, before falling halfway shut after a few seconds.

_Oh man... She's good!_

"Geez Kagura, you're so tense! Just like my mom when she gets home from work."

Kagura let her head drop on the counter, suddenly feeling all the anxiety escaping her. "Don't tell me... You do this for your mom too?"

"Sure do! Everytime my mum comes home, she sits herself on a chair, and that's pretty much my cue! She says I have a talent for this."

_No kidding..._

"Man, Tomo-chan, I gotta admit. This is amazing!"

"Hehe, isn't it?" the wildcat grinned.

Yomi was overlooking the scene while taking another drink. She then realised that Tomo might actually be useful for something, and she never even told her about it!

"I'm remembering that Tomo! You will be demonstrating that for me soon!" she called out.

"Yeah yeah. She's gonna be pestering me all the time now, better be grateful Kagura!" Tomo laughed.

Kagura just hummed and shut her eyes.

"Back at home, I had a fight with my parents again, about the exams... I left the house without my moms permission, and I yelled something really horrible to her. I'm scared to go home now, that's why I was so down..."

Sakaki overheard Kagura's confession, and she realised that she was right all along. Kagura had been keeping it to herself all this time... She actually believed that excuse about being tired for a moment, but not for long.

Tomo stopped her massage and patted Kagura on the shoulder. "That's it? And I had to squeeze that out of you?"

"I'm sorry... I just didn't want to bother anyone with it..."

Kagura sat herself straight again and faced Tomo. Her expression was quite sad, but Tomo quickly came up with a solution.

"Haha, don't worry about it! I'm in a good mood today, so you can stay at my place for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll talk to your mum, just leave it to me!"

Kagura was shocked. Tomo giving her such a nice offer? The world must be turning inside out now! She couldn't help but feel that there was something sinister behind it, like she had to be her servant for a whole week, or she had to buy her a new videogame, or something like that.

"What's the catch?" she finally asked.

"A catch? Hmm, let's see... Oh, I know!"

_Oh boy, I knew it..._

"That you stop being so damn grim and lighten up! We're here to have fun, not to sulk the night away!"

Kagura was as surprised as she ever was. She glanced over at the rest, and they had about the same expression as her, except for Chiyo, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"You...you mean it? No paying back? No catch?" she uttered in disbelief.

"Uhuh, you got it! Why would think something like that anyway?!"

"Because you're Tomo-chan?" Osaka interrupted.

A slight blush appeared on Kagura's tanned face, as well as a smile. "Th...thank you... I really appreciate it."

Tomo threw her arm around Kagura's neck and squeezed tightly. "Sure! That's what friends are for right? Now look lively, because this night has only just begun!"

_11:52 PM_

"Booyah! How's that Nyamo?! Let's see you get out of this one!"

The two renegade teachers had engaged in a pool contest, and it looked like Yukari had the upper hand. She had forced the black 8-ball dangerously close to the pocket, right next to the last striped ball that Nyamo had to knock in. She would have to hit the green striped 14-ball in such a way that the 8-ball wouldn't get hit, but this was nearly impossible, because the cue ball was in the wrong place. Nyamo remained silent and focused on her aim.

Like she thought, it was impossible for her, and the black ball of doom tumbled into the pocket with a short thud. She lost the match, and all that while Yukari still had several solid balls on the table.

"Haha! Yes! I did it! I won, I won, I won! In your face!"

"Just a stroke of luck Yukari. I was winning and you know it" Nyamo grumbled, annoyed by Yukari's thriumphant exaggeration.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. First to two!" the other yelled.

Kaorin nervously tapped her fingers against her glass. The moment of truth was closing in. She was going to ask Sakaki to come with her any minute now, before someone decided it was time to get going again. She had already figured out where the bathroom was, so she guessed that was the best bet to be alone with her for a while. Now she just had to swallow that ball down her throath and ask her.

_Now or never, time to go for it. Oh God, help me with this..._

"S-S-S-Sakaki-san! C...Could you....c-c-come with me for a second?" she stuttered.

"Ah, sure..."

Sakaki raised up from her barstool and followed Kaorin towards the ladies bathroom. Kaorin was a little bit relieved that she made it this far, but the hardest part was yet to come. She pushed open the door, revealing the bathroom to be completely empty. She moved towards one of the sinks, and leaned onto it.

_This is it! Don't blow it!_

Sakaki stood there a bit confused, wondering what the deal was. Her beautiful long raven hair, tall but delicate figure, downright perfect curves and flawless visage knocked Kaorin completely off guard. In her eyes, she held the stature of that of a goddess! where on earth could she find the courage to confess something like that to her. She could feel the heat welling up in her face, and it was like steam was shooting out of her nose and ears. She felt like an active volcano on the verge of erupting. She gulped one last time and inhaled deeply.

"I...I bet you're wondering why I always act so strange when you're around, b-b-b-but I assure you that...I'm not aways like this!"

_Way to go! What an amazing opener!_

Sakaki tilted her head sideways. "Oh?"

"Aaahh, w-well actually I ehhh... There's...there's something I've been meaning to tell you! How should I put this..."

"Ehm, excuse me" Sakaki interrupted. "Why are you so nervous?"

Sweat now flowed out of her pores and she felt hotter by the second. So hot in fact, that the mirror behind her showed signs of condensation. Her face was beet red, and what was left of her calmness had now been lost.

_Crap crap crap crap! I'm losing it!_

She pulled her face away and looked at the floor, sure that she just wasted her best chance yet. But then she felt Sakaki's hand pressing against her forehead. She looked up and now stared straight in her breathtaking dark eyes, her breath softly brushing against her face, and Kaorin started to swoon.

"Are you having a fever? Your forehead's burning up" she said softly.

Now, Kaorin could faint. Fall straight down on her back and not get up for at least 15 minutes. But she mentally slapped herself awake.

_No time to faint, this is too good to be true!_

Instead, she gently grabbed Sakaki by the wrist and looked her straight in the eyes again.

"No, Sakaki-san, what I'm about to say may sound completely rediculous, and I've been keeping it to myself for a long time. From the first time I saw you in fact... But I can't anymore, it's eating me up inside. I can't even sleep at night anymore."

A small tear welled up in her eye. The emotions took over and she was at the point of screaming it all out right there. Sakaki witnessed the said tear rolling down her cheek, and a faint blush formed right beneath her eyes.

"You see, it's just that I...really, really..."

Like Heaven and Hell forbidded her, another rumbling sound rose up from the ground, followed swiftly by a slight shudder.

Kaorin nearly lost her ballance, but was able to keep it by spreading her feet out. Sakaki looked around startled as the shudder gradually became stronger.

_Oh no, not now, please! This can't be happening!_

_A few minutes earlier; 11:53 PM_

"Hey, where are they going?" Tomo wondered as she saw Sakaki and Kaorin heading for the bathroom.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go!" Osaka said as she drank her glass empty.

"So the myth of girls going to the bathroom in pairs is true after all huh?" Kagura smirked.

Yomi had a questionable look on her face, but then transformed it into a smile. "No, I think I know what's going on."

"Really? What?" they all chanted in unison.

Yomi turned to her friends. "Oh come on, haven't you noticed how infatuated Kaorin gets whenever Sakaki-san is around? Or when there is even the slightest talk about her? The girl is clearly in love with her!"

Tomo crossed her arms. "In love with Sakaki-san? Talk about going the distance! So you think she's confessing to her right now?"

"Probably, but I never knew she had the guts to do it."

"Alright! I'm going to go wish her luck!"

Tomo was about to run towards the bathroom, but was grabbed by the collar by Yomi just in time.

"Are you nuts?! You're gonna ruin it for her! You're staying right here!" she snarled.

"Hmpf, fine! But I'll ask her how it went later."

"Honestly Tomo-chan, sometimes you gotta think before you act..." Kagura chuckled.

Chiyo had fallen asleep, her head resting in her crossed arms on the counter. Not surprising. The little girl was used to a completely different rythm. It was way past her biological bedtime. Yomi had let her sleep up until now, but some people were looking at her strangely. She was asleep at a bar after all, people start asking themselves questions. Yomi gently poked Chiyo awake.

"Chiyo-chan, wake up..."

The little girl slowly lifted her head up, yawned and rubbed her eyes. It was then that it hit her that she had fallen asleep.

"Oh no! I was sleeping? What time is it?"

Yomi blushed a bit. That was probably one of the cutest things she'd ever seen, and she had seen the girl in her penguin costume. If she could, she would do that all over again.

"Almost midnight. Are you tired? If you want, we could drop you off at home."

Chiyo was still rubbing her eyes and shook her head. "No, I'm fine, I'm just not really used to staying up so late."

Chiyo looked around to see Tomo joyfully chatting with Kagura, Osaka playing a game on her cellphone, and Yukari and Nyamo in the heat of an eight-ball game. Then she noticed that two members of the team were missing.

"Where are Sakaki-san and Kaorin-chan?" she asked dazed.

Yomi gave the explanation. To say the least, Chiyo was surprised.

"Kaorin has a crush on Sakaki-san?"

"Uhuh! And she's probably confessing right now. But wait a minute..."

Something suddenly struck her. Maybe Kaorin didn't want anyone else to know, and she may have just screwed up by telling everyone.

"Everyone" she shouted, but not too loud. "If it turns out it has gone wrong in there, don't bring the matter up, okay? That's an order!"

Osaka, Tomo and Kagura shrugged, but agreed, and Nyamo and Yukari didn't know what she was talking about. They were too tangled up in their game for that.

"Anyway, what were we talking about again?" Tomo resumed her conversation with Kagura.

"That game I was going to borrow! You know? Half-Life?"

"Oh yeah, of course! So you're up in the ventilation system with nothing but your flashlight right? Then suddenly, this Headcrab comes jumping right at your face! It scared the living crap outta me! And then those zombies, man, they're annoying as all hell, but just a few shotgun blasts and..."

Kagura turned her head as she saw the cola in her half-empty glass forming wrinkles all over the surface. Then, the conversation was abruptly ended by a soft grumble rising up from the ground.

"What? Another one?" she mumbled.

The rumble evolved into a roaring, and before they even knew it, the whole bar was violently shaking about. Everyone took cover underneath the small protrusion of the counter. It wasn't much at all, but it would have to do. But Tomo, who was standing up when it began, couldn't keep her footing and tripped over the vibrating ground. Kagura and Yomi yelled something to her, but the sound of clattering glass drowned out their voices. The glass doors behind the bar swung open, and several bottles fell to the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces, while the bartender ran to the nearest doorway and clammed himself steady. The other people dove underneath the tables in panic, and some even attempted to run outside.

That's when it hit. A series of lurches so brutal that it could make a person sick. Like the ground underneath them was going to burst into millions of pieces and swallow them all up. Chairs and tables jumped up all over the floor like they were dancing, bottles that were still standing were now violently thrown to the floor and the windows slowly started to crack. Kagura, Osaka, Yomi and Chiyo were holding on to whatever they could hold on to, while Yukari and Nyamo grasped the sturdy pooltable as last resort not to be thrown to the floor. Some of the billiard balls were tossed off the table and happily bounced all over the place. The roaring was now deafening, making it impossible to hear anything else but the ominous groaning of the whole building. Tomo again attempted to stand up, but it was simply impossible. She was thrown on her back, just in time to see the lamp and parts of the ceiling coming down on her. A screeching, burning pain jolted through her right arm. The scorching hot fluorescent lamp burned into her arm, and she knocked the lamp and some of the relatively light rubble off of her in reflex. Yomi watched in shock, and shortly after, both she and Osaka could see some of the customers dissapear underneath the ceiling, the sheer weight of the concrete crushing the table they had found refuge under. Yomi clenched her eyes shut and used her free arm to pull a bewildered Chiyo closer to her. Then, all remaining lights blacked out, leaving only the sound and motion to tell what was going on. The windows could be heard shattering, and more of the building collapsed with a terrifying moan. The large amounts of dust rose up and filled everyones lungs. Yomi felt the debris falling down on her and scratching at her head. The TV that was firmly suspended came crashing down right next to Kagura, emitting sparks that shortly litted the otherwise dark room. In those flashes, she saw Tomo, trying to stay steady, and part of the wall tumbling down, right on top of her.

_Oh my God..._

_Back in the bathroom; 11:55 PM _

"S-Sakaki-san?" Kaorin weeped as the tiles on the walls started to fling loose. Large fissures appeared on both the flooring and the walls, and the lights flickered on and off rapidly. She tried to hold her footing by holding on to one of the sinks, but lost it when it broke off completely, spraying water right onto her. Sakaki grabbed her by the hand, but lost her ballance herself. They both fell to the floor, where they desperately tried their best not to be tossed all around.

"Stay down Kaorin. It's impossible to stand up now!" Sakaki shouted throughout the noise.

The room finally gave in, and the largest part of the ceiling came crashing down without a decent warning.

"Look out!"

Sakaki threw herself over the shorter girl, shielding her from the rubble falling down. A numbing pain shot up in her head and back, and her body fell limp upon Kaorin's. And so, it ended. Nothing but darkness, silence, and a soft whimpering.

"Sakaki-san..."

* * *

Wata : Okay, before you start, I've never been to Tokyo, so I wouln't have the faintest idea of what everything looks like. I only did some research on the internet and google earth for the locations in this chapter and the next ones.

Subplots, subplots and whoa, holy shit! That's pretty much how I would describe this chapter. Once again, if you know where I'm going with this, don't spoil it in the reviews, but you can PM me anytime. Now, for some explanations.

Takoyaki are the famous fried octopus balls I'm sure you've heard of several times in the series, and yes, they can be found in vending machines, as crazy as that sounds.

Kabukicho is indeed a Red Light district, but it doesn't have the typical half-naked ladies sitting behind a window with a red light situations. It's mostly an entertainment district, and comes to life during the night.

I don't know if the Azu girls live in the Shinjuku region, but I assume they do. It was never mentioned in the anime, as far as I know.

The Slayer scene was just thrown in for giggles and laughs. I'd like to imagine that at least Tomo and Kagura would be a little into metal. Raining Blood is now officially on the soundtrack of this fic! XD

Why Half-Life? Dunno, was just one of the first things that came to my mind. Just trivial. (I do not own Half-Life, just to be safe)

Kaorin : So...close!

Kagura : That's messed up man!

Tomo : Great, second chapter and I may as well already be dead.

Wata : Just sit tight, I've got a lot of work to do. See you soon!


	3. Chaos And Confusion

_Chapter 3_

_Greetings from the almost tropical Belgium. With a heat stroke and a sunburnt nose, I bring you this._

_Please do enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 3 : Chaos And Confusion

_11:57 PM_

With dust stinging her eyes, Yomi shoved the beam right in front of her out of the way with one hand. The other arm still had Chiyo pressing close to her. She couldn't see anything; the whole bar was pitch black and for some reason, the temperature seemed to be going up rapidly. Outside, she heard people panicking, yelling something about a building being on fire. She prayed that it wasn't the building they were in, but something told her that was the case. She slowly crawled from under the counter, dust and small rubble falling on her head. She felt a cut on her forehead, right above her left eye, and blood running down from the wound.

"I...is everyone alright?" she said between coughs.

Osaka was completely shook up, both literally and figuratively, and could only mutter a simple "yeah".

"Ehh, no, no...not really..."

Yomi immediately recognised that voice. Kagura was already there since she saw it happen with her own eyes. She opened her cellphone that emitted just enough light to see what really happened.

"Oh no..."

Beneath a big pile of concrete and steel from the collapsed wall, Tomo was sticking out from the waist. Blood ran down her face and her right arm showcased a nasty burnmark. She was still conscious, but it seemed her legs were crushed by the rubble. Yomi, Osaka and Chiyo crouched down by her.

"Tomo-chan, are you alright?" Yomi asked, already regretting asking such a question.

"Let's just say...I've been better..." the downed wildcat answered.

"Can you feel your legs?"

"Oh yeah, I sure can... Thanks for asking."

"Ehm... Ca....can you move them?" her taller friend finally asked.

"I can wiggle my toes if that's what you mean, but my legs are stuck... Get me outta here!"

"Okay...okay... Just...don't move."

Yomi lifted the chunks off Tomo's legs one by one, but most of them were pretty heavy, so she could use some help.

"Where are Yukari-sensei and Nyamo-sensei?" Osaka wondered out loud.

"Right here!" Yukari's voice sounded from the darkness. "Does anyone have a light?"

"Hang on!"

Nyamo grabbed her cellphone and activated the flashlight function. For the first time, they could all see the true ravage the earthquake had caused. All the windows were destroyed, and the far back of the bar had completely collapsed, as well as most of the ceiling. In between the debris, arms and hands of customers being crushed were visible. Behind the counter, all the cupboards had broken loose, sloping down against the counter, all the glass shattered. There was no sign of the bartender, but the room behind the doorframe where he was seeking shelter was completely filled with rubble.

"Sakaki-san and Kaorin are still in the restroom. Someone go see if they're alright!" said Yomi.

Nyamo and Yukari were on it, but they had to climb several heaps of concrete and push broken beams out of the way.

Kagura and Osaka helped Yomi in clearing the wall from their friend, slowly removing the stones one by one.

"Don't worry Tomo-chan, we'll get you out of there, no problem" Kagura muttered.

"Sure, take your time" Tomo chuckled.

_11:59 PM_

Kaorin was well and wide awake, but the same thing couldn't be said about Sakaki. She was laying on top of her, head on her shoulder. Blood seeped onto her, dripping from Sakaki's forehead from an invisible wound. Fortunately, she could still feel her breathing and her heart beating. Normally, Kaorin would enjoy this pose, but the large chunk of ceiling covering Sakaki's body like a blanket pushed her down on her lungs, making it very hard to breathe. To make it worse, the room was exceptionally hot, way hotter than before. She gasped for air and tried to push the debris off them. It was generally pointless; except for some of the smaller chunks, nothing would even budge. She noticed a strange, unusual smell lingering in the air. She dipped her fingers in the water that was all over the floor from the broken waterpipes and brought it to her nose. Like she thought, the smell came from the water. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but it was something like the smell of a burnt hair. Because Sakaki had shielded her, Kaorin felt no real wounds anywhere. But the heat and the oxygen shortage made it hard to stay conscious. Her only hope was to wake up Sakaki, then maybe they could move that damn debris together.

"S...Sakaki-san... Wake up..."

Kaorin used her only free hand to shake the girl that was out cold around. A soft grunt came from her, signalling that she was coming around again.

"Hey...wake up..."

"Wh...what happened? Why is it so hot in here...?" she whispered meekly, right next to Kaorin's ear.

A shiver ran down Kaorin's spine. "I...I don't know, maybe the building is on fire somewhere... We have to push the ceiling off of us. I tried already, but it won't move..."

Kaorin's voice was soft and weak, mainly because of Sakaki's chest pressing down hard on hers. Sakaki tried to push herself up, but a sharp pain in her right arm forced her down again. She sweated heavily and hissed in agony.

"My arm... I think it's broken..."

Kaorin tilted her head backwards, desperately searching for some fresh air to breathe.

"They'll...they'll come looking for us, I know it! We're gonna be alright..."

Finally, after some minutes that seemed like an eternity, they could hear the silence being broken by a bashing against the door, and then a familiar voice calling out for them.

"Sakaki! Kaori! Are you in there?"

_That's Yukari-sensei!_

"Yes, we're here! Help!" Kaorin yelled with what little air she had left.

_Saturday July 14__th__ 2001; 12:09 AM_

Tomo's legs were slowly getting visible again, and it was no pretty sight. Her jeans were torn up in several places, and fresh blood soaked the flaps. There were some pretty deep wounds, and they were clotted with dust to the point that it just couldn't be healthy. Tomo herself was in pretty bad pain, but she tried to stay optimistic.

"See? I told you that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day" she joked.

"Yeah, you were right and we were wrong. But it was so close though" said Kagura.

"Oh? Why?"

"Because just a few minutes later and it would have been the 14th" she chuckled.

"Right. Guess it was a last minute kinda thing huh?"

"Yeah. We almost got you out. Try moving your legs again."

Tomo ignored the pain for a while and pushed the remaining blocks off her with her legs. To everyone's relief, she could move them without a problem, and nothing seemed to be broken. All except that they were a bloody mess, and her pants were completely ruined. Yomi helped her back to her feet.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks..."

The door to the restroom was so twisted that it was impossible to open. Even when Yukari and Nyamo joined forces, the door would not give in a single inch. As a last resort, they tried bashing into the door, but that made the unstable building creak dangerously even more than it did before.

"Dammit! We can't get the door open!" Yukari yelled over the ruins.

Osaka carefully walked over to the broken window and peeked outside between the severed beams. Beside from the cars, there was no light to be seen. The power must have gone out in the entire city. She saw multiple people running around, and even some rescue workers. Why they didn't bother to check the mangled bar was beyond her, but she figured this was the best chance to get out of there, since the entrance was completely obstructed by the collapsed wall. She stuck her hand out between the limited space and yelled out for them as loud as she could.

"Hey! Over here! Help us!"

_12:13 AM_

Kaorin and Sakaki had given up. All their efforts to lift the crumbled ceiling off them had failed, and the pain in Sakaki's arm got worse by the minute. They were aware that Yukari and Nyamo were unable to open the door, and the athmosphere in the destroyed restroom was damp and asphyxiating. They realised that if an aftershock would occur, they could lose their lives there.

"This may not be the best moment but...what did you want to say to me before?" Sakaki puffed.

Kaorin closed her eyes and gasped for air again. She felt the heat in her body slowly spreading.

"W-w-well, I wish I could tell you this...under better...circumstances...but..."

_Might as well do it now, it could be my last chance._

"I...I like you, Sakaki-san. I...really....like you..." she mumbled. For some reason, she couldn't bring that word over her lips, that word that she really wanted to say instead. For that, she could kick herself.

_Just 3 simple words, and I can't say them right...dammit..._

Sakaki remained silent. She didn't really know what to say to that. After an awkward silence, she finally spoke up.

"Well...I like you too...I mean, you're a nice girl... But is that why you were so nervous?"

_Are you messing with me? Or are you really that oblivious..._

Finally, a sparkle of hope emerged when they could hear other voices coming from the other side of the door. Several muffled male voices, discussing something with Yukari and Nyamo. Next, an object slowly breaking the door open and a bright white light shining through the cracks. Sakaki lifted her dazed head up and saw a crowbar forcing the door open and flashlights shining in her eyes. The door was finally open, and several rescue workers, clad in yellow, wearing safety helmets and carrying several tools pushed their way in.

"They're both still alive!" one of them shouted. "Give me a hand here!"

The man crouched down by them. "Are you girls alright?"

The both nodded weakly.

"Okay, we're going to need your help to get you out. We'll be pulling up the ceiling, but we need you to push from your side. What's your name?"

"Ka...Kaori.."

"Kaori-san, can you use your arms?"

"I think..."

"Good, push the rubble up as hard as you can okay? What's your name?"

"Sakaki... But...I think...my right arm is broken..."

"That's okay, they can take care of that when you get outside, your friends are waiting there. Okay, Sakaki-san, you look like a strong one, so pushing yourself up with your left arm should be enough. Give it all you got one last time, okay?"

"Yeah..."

4 men positioned themselves near the edge of the collapsed ceiling, ready to start heaving.

"Okay, on three! One...two...THREE!"

The rescue team pulled on the heavy, solid chunk with all their might, while Kaorin and Sakaki pushed up with what little energy they still had left. Biting their teeth and clenching their eyes shut, the ceiling slowly sloped up, until the space was big enough to free them.

"Okay, hold it like this! Nagamoto, pull them out!"

The fifth rescue worker dragged Kaorin out first, then pulled Sakaki in by the shoulders. After being trapped and almost crushed for more than 20 minutes, they were finally freed from their predicament. The workers slowly placed the chunk back on the floor and leaded them outside of the bathroom. It was now that Sakaki could see what happened to her arm. On the outer side of her right lower arm was a terrible wound, and the broken stump of her Ulna was sticking out. A sight that made her gag and almost throw up. Other than that, there were several shallow cuts on her legs and a bleeding wound on the back of her head. Kaorin was mostly unscathed, just some bruises and cuts on her arms and legs, but nothing serious. She felt glad that she could finally breathe again, although the air in the bar was just about as hot as in the restroom.

"We have an open arm fracture here! Take her to the medics outside, this needs to be treated immediately!"

Two of the men gently led Sakaki and Kaorin outside, while they warned Sakaki not to move her arm. The others searched around for more possible survivors. The once blocked entrance was now professionally cleared, and the first cool breeze in quite a while met them. As soon as they made it out, they were recieved with a small applause from a few people standing in front of the bar, and of course by the rest of the group. Chiyo immediately ran up to them and hugged Sakaki by the waist.

"I'm so happy that you're alive, I was so scared!" she sobbed in relief.

"Same here Chiyo-chan" said Kaorin.

Chiyo caught eye of Sakaki's arm and gasped in fright and disgust.

"Sakaki-san! Your arm!"

"I know, I have to see a doctor..." Sakaki gulped.

Chiyo only had a small cut above her eyebrow, but that was already taken care of. Yomi's gash on her forehead was still being treated, same for Tomo's legs, that looked even more nasty in the light. Yukari had some bruises and scrapes on her arms, but no open wounds, and Nyamo had a bleeding cut on her right cheek. Kagura and Osaka were the only ones who didn't seem to have substained any wounds, but what they all had in common, was that they were all covered in dust, and they were all scared out of their wits.

_12:30 AM_

"At around 11:54 PM yesterday, right before midnight, a powerful earthquake shook up the city of Tokyo. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA, the quake had the strenght of a Shindo 7, and scientists speak of the most powerful earthquake to hit Tokyo since 1923. The tremor was timed at a terrifying 1 minute and 32 seconds. The location of the epicenter is still unknown, but is believed to have been somewhere in the Shinjuku region. Serious damage reports go as far as Saitama, Chiba and Yokohama, but minor damage has also been reported beyond. According to experts, the worst damage is in Shinjuku-ku, Shibuya-ku, Toshima-ku, Chiyoda-ku, Nakano-ku and Bunkyo-ku. Now, about a half an hour after the event, the casualty counter has already gone up to one thousand, and the damage is not yet calculated, but is believed to already reach an astronomical amount. Firefighters, rescue workers and medics are working hard to search for survivors and extinguish the fires caused by severed gaspipes. The authorities are advising everyone to stay out of their houses in case of aftershocks, and wait for further instructions by the police. Because the epicenter is believed to have been inside the city, there is no tsunami danger. Stay tuned for more developments."

The chime of the radio throughout the demolished street was well audible to everyone, but didn't really tell anything they didn't know already. It was one of the heaviest quakes in Tokyo ever, that didn't really surprise anyone. The damage being that severe? You only had to look at the skyline to realise that. Several plumes of smoke crawling up, red-orange glows in the distance, red, flashing lights and sirens all over the place, fissures and cracks in the streets and buildings, but most disturbing, one of the tall skyscrapers leaning against another, looking like it could topple over completely any second. And casualties? You couldn't look anywhere without seeing at least one. People dragging their deceased or critically wounded friends or relatives on the streets. Panic, chaos and confusion roamed the city. The only things drowning out the loud sirens were either crying or screaming.

Osaka and Kagura sat on the kerb, not too far from another tear in the concrete.

"You know, on my way over here, I said to Chiyo-chan that maybe there would be more earthquakes to come. I should have just kept my mouth shut..." said Osaka in an almost guilty fashion.

"Don't be silly Osaka-san, like it would have made a difference. At least all of us are still alive" Kagura answered.

Suddenly, the ringtone on Osaka's cellphone went off, much to their surprise. She reached into her pocket, pulled it out and answered it wearily.

"Eh, hello?... Mom?"

Kagura looked up to her friend, then to the others. It seemed that most of them also recieved a phonecall. Even Tomo and Sakaki, who were still being treated, reached for their cellphones, or what was left of it. The reception must have been restored just now.

"Yeah, I'm okay. We were in a bar when it happened... No I'm not hurt, don't worry. How are you?"

Kagura took out her phone too. Perhaps her parents have called her too, but she missed it. Her phone didn't have a scratch and still worked perfectly, but no missed calls or messages. She got worried, and decided to call for herself to make sure if everything was alright. She stood up and moved a bit further away from the noise, one finger shutting off her ear.

"What? How is he?! He's alright, right?" Yomi yelled in her phone. "...oh, I see, that's a relief... Yeah, I'm fine too, just a scratch on my forehead. The others are fine too, but Sakaki-san has a broken arm, so... Okay, I'll see you there... Love you too..."

Yomi just heard that her house was damaged and that a sculpture fell off the cupboard and on her father's head. He was brought to the hospital, but he was alright, just a concussion. Her mother was unharmed, but a bit in shock. Tomo's house had miraculously come out unharmed, probably because her father invested in earthquake security a few years ago. Very good move, she admitted now. Chiyo's house, or rather, mansion, suffered minor damage because, like Tomo's place, was earthquake proof. Both her parents and Tadakichi-san were fine, but shook up. Sakaki's parents were shocked to hear from their daughter's condition, and reported that their house was now in a state of repair. They suffered some injuries, none critical, but some families in her street weren't as lucky as them. Kaorin heard the worst news so far. Her family was fine, they were in the backyard, enjoying the nice night when it happened, but there was nothing left of her house. The foundations had given in under the tremor, and in a matter of seconds, it was wiped off the map. All her possessions were buried under tons of wood and concrete. The silver lining on the cloud was that they had insurance for natural disasters, but they didn't know when they could be expecting that money. That was a cold comfort, and she immediately started crying after the phonecall. Finally, Osaka's parents were okay, but the windows in the house had all bursted and it was just one big mess.

But Kagura had been trying to contact her parents for almost 10 minutes now. She didn't even hear a dial tone, just that stupid beeping and the message : 'this number cannot be reached for the moment'.

_Maybe the phone is off..._

She closed her phone and clenched her fist. Even if their cellphone was destroyed, they would have searched for another way to contact her. It couldn't be that they were still angry and didn't care, there's no way she could believe that. She had a feeling that something terrible had happened. There was only one way to find out now...

Kagura suddenly started running down the street, but was halted by Yomi.

"Kagura-san, where are you going?"

She turned around, a worried and nervous expression on her face.

"My mom isn't picking up! I have to go home, I have to see if they're okay!"

"Wait, we're coming with you!" Yomi shouted back.

Sakaki's Ulna was forced back in place, which was a very painful experience, but she bit through it. Now, her lower arm was put in splints, and for now, there was nothing they could do. The hospitals were flooding with injured, so this would have to do. She was going to need operation later.

Kagura nodded, and proceeded to run down the street, the 6 others following her. Yukari and Nyamo saw them running off and had to break off the conversation with the medic. Since they were their teachers, they felt they had a responsibility for them, even outside of school. They abruptly started their pursuit.

_01:13 AM_

The way back wasn't easy. There was fire everywhere, several roads had been blocked because they were unstable, buildings that were collapsed, many crowds of people in panic, ambulances, police cars, firetrucks, too many obstacles to count. Kagura saw the smoke in the distance and took it as a bad omen. Bodies were strewn over the streets, people were hysterical, it was like the end of the world. Truly an apocalyptic sight.

When they reached their destination, Kagura feared the absolute worst. Her whole street was an inferno. Many residences were either caught on fire, or reduced to a pile of rocks, glass, wood and steel. Only a few were still standing, but were badly torn up. Kagura stood still for a moment, her heart beating in her throat. She couldn't believe it. A few hours ago, her neighbourhood was still in perfect condition, and in just one and a half minute, this was all that was left. Without thinking, she dashed further into the street, between the firefighters, to where her house is. The others followed her, shouting at her to calm down.

Kagura could fall to her knees. The house that she had lived in for so long, her home, now completely in flames right in front of her eyes. She shook her head in disbelief and looked around in panic. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. Her emotions took the best of her and she ran towards the burning building with tears in her eyes, but one of the firefighters stopped her just in time.

"I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to stay back miss!" he said calmly.

Kagura tried to struggle out of his grip. "Mom! Dad! W...where are they!?"

"Please move back, there's an explosion hazard. The gaspipe has been severed."

"Answer me! Where are they! Don't tell me you don't know!" she yelled frantically.

"I...I'm sorry..."

Yomi placed her hand on Kagura's shoulder and gently pulled her towards her.

"Come on Kagura-san, there's nothing you can do. It's too dangerous..."

Kagura took a few steps back but didn't take her eyes of what was left of her home. Somehow, she knew she had to believe that her parents made it out safe, but she realised that those chances were slim. They went to the other side of the road, where there was no fire, and just stood there, overhearing the conversations of the firefighters.

"Dammit, we need more water! This street is an inferno!"

"And where are we gonna get that? There's fire all over the God damn city! We're gonna be running out soon!"

"Tell those jackoffs to send in more reinforcements! We can't be everywhere at the same time!"

"Helicopters are on their way from Chiba and Yokohoma sir!"

"Well we need more! Tell them that the situation is completely out of hand!"

"Roger!"

"Holy shit! Look out!"

The 7 teenagers and the 2 adults stared in horror as Kagura's house violently bursted apart with a loud bang. In a matter of seconds, debris was raining down in the vicinity. An enormous sea of flames swallowed the ruins of the building. If her parents were still inside, which was most likely, there was no way they could have survived that.

Kagura's body was shaking all over despite the immense heat. She regretted everything that happened that day. The fight she had, her leaving without permission, those words she said to her mother, everything. It took a while for her to realise what truly just happened, but when she did, she lost all control. She suddenly screamed bloody murder, a mixture of extreme sorrow and anger, and once again attempted to run to the other side of the road. Tomo stopped her in her tracks and pulled her in for an embrace. She held her hand on the back of her head, while Kagura seized Tomo's shirt tightly and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Don't do it Kagura...just don't..." she uttered softly.

Tears wettened Tomo's shirt, and her whole body shocked. She tried to say something in between the heavy sobs, but it was completely unintelligable.

"You don't have to say anything... If you want to cry, just cry...it's okay..." Tomo said with a comforting tone. She looked up to the blaze that was once Kagura's home, and a lump formed in her throat. After this, Kagura started crying even louder.

All the others could feel Kagura's sadness. That damned earthquake has taken everything from her. Her home, her possessions, even her parents. They were fortunate enough that none of their families had gotten killed, but they knew that this was just so unfair to her. The moment was interrupted by Yukari's cellphone going off. She quickly picked up and answered it.

"Hello?...Uhuh..."

Nobody could hear who was on the other side of the line or what he or she was saying, but there was a big pause, probably a whole explanation.

"What?! Are you serious?...Okay, I'll tell her...Yeah... Take care..." Yukari sighed and hung up the phone. She pulled a defeated face and spoke up.

"That was the principal. The East wing of the school is completely destroyed, and the other side is totally ablaze... They think there's no hope for it... You should have heard him. The man was nearly crying."

Everyone was shocked by this news, especially Nyamo. They could only hope that one else got hurt. A structure can be replaced, a human life cannot.

"So then, where will we be going to school?" Osaka asked. "I...I don't want to change schools again!"

"I don't know Osaka-san... That depends on how fast they want to rebuild it, if they are even planning to do that" said Yomi.

"They have to! They can't just leave it how it is! They'll rebuild it, I'm sure of it!" Chiyo cried.

"You're probably right Chiyo-chan. I know the principal, and he's very passionate about what he does. If it were up to him, the school would be standing again by the end of summer break but... I don't think that's possible..." Nyamo added.

Kaorin stared at the sea of fire, feeling helpless and horrified.

"This is...just horrible... Why did this have to happen?" she weeped with her eyes watering again. "This night was supposed to be fun..."

Sakaki felt the same way, but was too stunned by the tragedy surrounding her to say anything. The firefighters were valiantly trying to extinguish the flames, but some of them had already gotten themselves injured. Despite that, they still continued, and it was like this all over the city, not just in this street.

Tomo was still comforting a broken Kagura. The tears wouldn't stop coming, and she was utterly oblivious to everything that was happening around her. Finally, Tomo gently pushed her away and looked her in her drowned, bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kagura didn't have the slightest idea what to answer, so she just nodded weakly.

"Let's get outta here alright? It's not safe here."

"Tomo-chan is right. Let's go to the Central Park, it should be safer there" Yomi announced.

Kagura didn't say a word and just agreed. With that, they all calmly made their way out of the burning street, leaving the ravage behind, as Kagura looked behind one last time.

_01:32 AM_

JMA center, Tokyo. Aishi Takeshi, a 48 year old seismologist, grumpily kicked open the door to his office, threw his suitcase on the floor and let himself fall into his chair. He loosened his necktie, lighted a cigarette and greedily inhaled a good dose of nicotine. To his dismay, the package was almost empty, and he figured the nightshops weren't open at a time like this. He was supposed to be on a holiday right now, but when the shit hits the fan, the boss is always glad to be calling him in, even this late at night. Oh well, he couldn't really complain. He loves his job, and a Shindo 7 doesn't happen everyday, so he sort of understood. He ran his fingers through his short, grey hair and pushed the power button on his computer. On his desk, the graphs were already left behind. He put on his reading glasses and quickly glanced over them. A mess of sharp, chaotic lines strewn over the length of the paper. One of them was so large that it nearly reached from one side of the sheet to the other, a gigantic zigzag. Next to it, there was the time, 11:54 PM, and the meter reading, 6.7.

_Clearly a Shindo 7..._

"Ah, Aishi-san, so you made it! Didn't get stuck in traffic did you?" a voice shook him out of his trance. He looked up to see a man in his middle thirties, standing in the doorframe with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Very funny Keichi. It's a hell hole out there, you wouldn't believe how many detours I had to make. Have you been here all night again?"

"Hah, you know me, I live for these kind of things."

"There's a difference between loving your job and literally loving your job you know. I'd say you're sucking up to the big boss. Preying for a raise again?" Aishi smirked.

"Maybe" Keichi shrugged. "Looked at the graphs already?"

"Yeah, it's just as big as I experienced it. My damn dog wouldn't stop barking. Some wake-up call that was. How are the services doing?" he mused as he once again pulled on his cigarette.

"Power is out all over the city but they're working on it, we're running on an emergeny generator. Gas has been cut off for safety, water and reception is only available in some areas... ehhh... public transport is halted, but we don't know if there are any subway trains stuck in the tunnels."

"Probably, but that's not our job now is it?"

"Right!"

Aishi leaned back into his chair and studied the graphs thoroughly. He noticed something odd in between the A-type earthquakes. Occasionally, between the lines, he barely saw a different kind of graph. One that had no specific beginning, and tailed away in the end. Also, the extremes weren't nearly as sharp as the regular ones, but more rounded. The signal was merged with others, so it was hard to see.

"Hey, look at this!" he said while he moved his finger across the line.

"What's that?..." the younger man asked.

"That's a B-type, a long period event."

"Right... So what does that mean?"

The middle aged man sighed and pointed at the regular ones.

"See, that's an A-type, a short period event. The sound when rocks break. In other words, an earthquake. Notice how it usually has a clear beginning, ends abruptly and has a sharp onset, okay?"

Keichi nodded, still following.

"But this is a B-type. It has no clear beginning and gradually fades away. Also, the onset is a lot slower. A long period event."

"Yeah, I know all that, but what does it mean?"

"Resonance, mostly" he answered.

"Resonance?!"

"Yes, when liquid or gas is put under pressure, it makes a sort of resonating tone. Like an organ pipe, for example."

"So what your saying is that something underground is under pressure and making those sounds?"

Aishi nodded and rubbed his chin. He pulled on his cigarette one more time and dumped it in his ashtray.

"You think there's a gas leak underneath the city? There was one in Shinjuku Gyoen yesterday."

"Possibly, and if that's true, the city is in grave danger. But it might as well be something else..."

"Such as...?"

Aishi bit his tongue and shook his head.

_Nah, that couldn't be..._

_

* * *

_

Wata : Man, you wouldn't believe how much homework crawled into this. Research, both scientific and geographical. So, a special thanks to Google Earth, Google itself, Wikipedia, various other websites and BBC and National Geographic for the documentaries. While writing this (which took me about 2 nights), it surely was hotter than hell, so yeah, I broke a sweat XD.

In loving memory of Michael Jackson (1958-2009), Billy Mays (1958-2009) and all the others who died recently. You will all be missed. I've been listening to MJ all the time while writing this chapter.

Osaka : See ya next time!

Yomi : Don't forget to R&R!

Kaorin : Don't spoil anything!

Wata : Those are my lines!


	4. Red Horizon

_Chapter 4. Oh yeah, here we go!_

_Disclaimer : do not own Azumanga, yada yada yada.  
_

Brace for epic ladies and gentlemen, cause this one is big!

This story is becoming more epic by the minute, it was epic in my head and it's epic on paper.

There's just too much epicness for me to handle, so epic that my brain explodes.

Did I mention it's epic?

So when you read this epicness, make sure to review and tell me how epic it was.

lol XD

* * *

Chapter 4 : Red Horizon

_01:48 AM_

Almost 2 hours after the fateful event. The police had tried their best to keep the population calm, instructing them to move to the nearest park. People took as many possessions with them as they could, leaving their damaged houses behind. Several reports of looting came in. It's natural that when disaster strikes, some people feel the need to raid the nearest store and take everything they can find. Noone was going to stop them anyway, the cops had their hands more than full. Japan, and specifically Tokyo has most of the important buildings constructed in such a way that they can handle the mediocre or heavier earthquakes. But when it reaches a power like this one, not even those will get out of it unharmed. The best example was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the mightiest and one of the tallest buildings in the city that was very close to the Central Park. One of the two towers, which characterised the structure, had broken off as if it was nothing and crashed down for almost 200 meters to its doom. Many other scyscrapers were in the same state, and some of them had even toppled over completely, crushing the smaller buildings down below. Everyone took a little bit comfort in knowing that the worst of it all was over. But unbeknownst to them, below their feet, the ground was still rumbling, giving off a soft hum that was inaudible to anyone.

Eastern side of the Shinjuku Central Park, bordered by some of the tallest buildings that the city had to offer. The once beautiful green area had turned into a warzone. Many of the trees had been uprooted, ready to be turned into firewood. Many people had gathered on the plaza in front of the park, but some of them didn't exactly feel safe there and contemplated to move to Shinjuku Gyoen, or any other park for that matter. The girls decided to look for another spot that was less crowded. They found one in the southern region of the park, near a creek. There was nobody there, so they could at least enjoy a little bit of peace. Yomi, Tomo and Kagura sat down on the bench, not too far from water. Kagura had calmed down a little, but was still on the very edge of bursting out in tears again.

"Are you alright Kagura-san?" Yomi asked worried.

Kagura meekly nodded. "Yeah... I'm okay, but...," she paused and let her head hang down.

"It's alright, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to...," said Tomo.

Kagura shook her head and grabbed hold of her jeans tightly. "No...there's something I have to get off my chest..."

Everyone gathered around her to hear what she was going to say.

"I already told you that I...that I had a fight with my parents...and that I wasn't allowed to go out... but the last thing I said to mom... I...I..."

Her body started shaking and tears once again overflowed her eyes. Her voice dissapeared in heavy sobs and hiccups. Tomo put her arm around her and pulled her in closer.

"What did you say...?"

"I...I told her to...."

Kagura raised her head up, revealing her red eyes, teardrenched cheeks and the water runing down her nose.

"I told her to drop dead..."

She supported her elbows on her knees, placed a hand in front of her eyes and continued to cry. The rest of the group had a hard time grasping what she had just said. For at least 30 seconds, nobody dared to say a word. All of them could feel her misery and despair. Yomi was the first to break the silence.

"I...I'm sure she knew you didn't mean that. I mean, when people are angry, they say things like that... Besides, maybe your parents did make it out on time, but they might have been brought to the hospital," she said carefully.

Kagura rubbed her hand on her wet cheek. "No... They were supposed to go to work tomorrow morning. They were probably already asleep when it happened."

Yomi sighed softly and stared to the ground. "...I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be... I'm the one who should be sorry... All we did was yell...and I never got to say...goodbye..." Her voice went up and once again vanished, and her breakdown only got deeper.

Tomo, still with her arm around her, tried to comfort her at the best of her abilities.

"It's okay...," was the best she could come up with.

"No it's not! You have no idea how this feels! I'm an orphan now! Don't just tell me it's okay, cause you have no idea!" she snapped, her voice filled with emotion.

Tomo was a bit dumbstruck, and also a bit hurt. The Kagura before her was heartbroken, a shattered image of the girl she once was. She was right, Tomo, or anyone of the group for that matter, couldn't possibly comprehend what she was going through. She had lost everything in less than two minutes, all while everyone else's parents and most of their homes managed to make it out. Kaorin was the only other one whose home was demolished, but her parents were okay, and that was the most important.

"Kagura...I...I didn't..."

"No, I...I-I'm sorry Tomo... I didn't mean to take it out on you..."

She sighed and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"I'm glad I still have you guys..."

These words warmed everyone's hearts. Kagura was going through an incredibly tough time right now, and as friends, they felt the need to support her.

"That's right! We're here for you girl, aren't we guys?"

Everyone gave a smile and a genuine nod.

"See?" Tomo continued. "You can stay at my place for as long as you want! How's that?"

Kagura looked up to her surprised. "Really? You mean it?"

"Hey, I promised you before right? I swear!"

"B...But are your parents gonna be okay with that? I don't want to be a burden..."

"A burden? No way! You're my friend! And my parents will understand, they have to! And if not, I'll use my Tomo powers to make them!" she chuckled.

Finally, a touched smile returned to Kagura's face and she embraced her shorter friend by the neck.

"Thank you," she whispered in her ear.

"No problem...," Tomo replied a bit flushed.

The rest was not left unaffected by this display. They had all sat through it without saying a word up until now, paying very close attention. They were somewhat amazed that Tomo managed to cheer up Kagura the second time this night, practically all by herself at that. Even in Kagura's darkest times, she managed to put a smile on her face, something that no one else probably could have accomplished. Maybe she was often a source of annoyance, but she had formed a bond with Kagura that seemed so strong that not even the strongest of earthquakes could destroy it. But Yomi, Tomo's long time friend who knew her inside out, saw something else in it. The way Tomo blushed told her that she wasn't experiencing just a friendly hug. There was something more than just friendship alone. Something that she couldn't quite place her finger on, yet seemed so obvious to her.

Yomi was on to something. Kagura felt it at that moment. A special warmth that made her heart flutter, she felt it during her hug with Tomo. She tried to decipher it, making it out as friendship at first, but that conclusion didn't feel right to her. It was something stronger, something burning, and it gave a tingling sensation to her stomach. Something that made her nervous, yet relaxed her at the same time. Then it struck her, and it was hard for her to wrap her mind around.

_It couldn't be..._

Kagura was torn out of her trance-like state when Osaka's voice suddenly sounded.

"Yukari-sensei, you know a lot of stuff right?"

Yukari was a bit baffled at that sudden question. "Ehh... Well I don't mean to brag, but yeah, I do!"

Osaka smiled sheepishly. "Good, then could you tell me what's going on over there?"

"Huh?"

The confused Yukari followed Osaka to the edge of the creek. Osaka pointed to the water, but Yukari had no idea what to answer her.

"Ehh, well...you see...that's...errr..."

The others went after them out of curiosity, but none of them could give an explanation of what was going on. Yomi had never seen anything like this either, so she could only utter the following.

"What in the name of..."

Coming up to the surface of the water was something like a gas, turning the whole stagnant creek into a bubblebath. A strange vapor escaped from it, and several sweet water fish were floating belly up with what seemed to be burnmarks all over the scales. If they didn't know any better, they'd say that the whole creek was boiling. But Kaorin immediately recognised the strange odour in the air.

"That smell! I smelled that back in the restroom too!"

"You know what that is?" Yomi responded. "It's sulfur, no doubt about it... Nobody touch it!"

She picked up a long stick from the grass and cautiously submerged it into the water. She now felt that the water also had an unusually high temperature. When she pulled it out again after about 20 seconds, her eyes widened. Up to the point where she had put the stick in the water, the wood was almost completely eaten away, leaving only the thinner, blackened remains.

Nyamo stared at the charred stick in Yomi's hand in disbelief, then jumped up like on command.

"We have to tell someone about this, this isn't normal!"

Yomi calmly stood up and nodded. "Yeah, there should be a police officer nearby. Let's go."

Yomi and Nyamo took the lead, running back to the north side of the park. Everyone else followed, exept for one. Tomo looked behind and saw that Kagura was still standing on the shore, staring at the bubbles violently bursting at the surface. Tomo marched up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Kagura...?"

Kagura felt a shiver run down her spine the moment she heard Tomo's voice. She wanted to think about so many things. Her emotions, her feelings, she was just one big cluster of confusion. More than anything, she preferred to be alone for a while, but with everything happening, that was a comfort that she couldn't afford.

"What the hell is going on in this city..."

"Come on Kagura, we have to go..."

_02:06 AM_

Aishi nervously tapped his fingers on his desk. Since he was a veteran and had proven enough in his carreer, he was allowed to make some demands around the workplace. Right now, he demanded that he was kept to par with the seismometer and that someone would get him a new pack of cigarettes. All that said and done, he studied the newest graphs while lighting a new smoke.

"This isn't good Keichi. We're getting more and more B-types, and they're getting stronger every time."

Keichi, smoking a butt of his own, tapped the ashes in his tray and blew out the smoke in his lungs.

"Well, what do you think it means? Gas after all?"

"Maybe, but we need more clues. The thing I'm thinking of in particular, I just don't see how it can be possible..."

Keichi stretched himself out and yawned loudly. He was wondering why his superior was acting so mysterious all of a sudden. Why didn't he just tell him what was on his mind! It was becoming a bit irritating for him, but if even Aishi was acting so nervous, it had to be something serious. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and without waiting for an invitation, Takao, one of their colleagues working at the office further down the corridor, marched in with a serious look on his face.

"Aishi-san! You're not going to believe this. We just recieved word from the police. A group of girls discovered that the creek in the southern region of Shinjuku Central Park is producing a strange gas and bubbles are coming up."

"A broken gas pipe maybe?" was the older man's answer.

"No, they also said that the pH is unnaturally low, and that there is a sulfuric smell coming from the water. We've sent one of our experts to the park, he's on his way."

With a shaking hand, Aishi brought the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled.

"Is this information reliable?" he asked.

"Yes, a policeman has seen it with his own eyes."

Aishi closed his eyes and thought deep. He picked up the empty glass from his desk and held it out to him.

"Could you do me a favor Takao? Could you go to the bathroom and bring me a glass of water from the faucet?"

"Ah...yes sir..."

Takao took the glass from him and ran down the corridor. Keichi was even more confused now. Why would he want a glass of water all of a sudden. Was he really that thirsty? Or was he trying to prove something. He was pondering about this so hard that he didn't notice that his older counterpart was staring at him.

"Hey, Keichi, snap out of it alright? You're not getting paid to get lost in thoughts."

"Eh...s-s-sorry chief..."

"And stop calling me chief. Just because I'm older than you doesn't mean that I'm the boss of you."

Keichi couldn't help but call him that. He had an immense respect for him and his knowledge. So much that he saw him as his superior, his 'sensei' so to speak. Although he wasn't the boss, he shone with authority. He decided not to think about it too much, and just wait until Takao returned.

"Yeah, sorry about that" he chuckled somewhat nervously.

About a minute later, Takao returned at the office, his face pale and disturbed.

"I see what you mean Aishi-san, we have a big problem..."

In his hand he held the glass, but the water inside it had a disgusting brown colour and was so murky that it was impossible to look through. Almost like he just scooped it up from a puddle of mud.

"Smell this..."

Aishi took the glass and hovered his nose above it. His own fear and disbelief seemed to become reality. The earthquake, the long period events, the acidizing of the creek and now this. The brown water had a very strong smell of sulfur.

"And that's not all..." Takao continued. "I almost forgot to tell you, but we've determined the epicenter of the quake. It was very close to the Central Park!"

That was all the confirmation that Aishi needed to support his theory. The city was in grave danger indeed.

"Oh my God... Takao, call the police and tell them to evacuate the vicinity of Central Park immediately! Tell them it's an absolute emergency!"

"I'm on it sir!"

Keichi grabbed the glass of murky water and sniffed it. He cringed and held it away from himself in disgust.

"Aishi-san, could you please tell me what the hell is happening? I don't exactly specialise in these kind of things."

Aishi folded his hand under his chin and sighed nervously.

"Okay, but this is going to sound completely rediculous, so brace yourself."

_02:12 AM_

The group of nine were standing in the western side of the park, not too far from the Shinto and Kumano-Jinja temples. And they were not alone. Though many people had already left because it was getting crammed, there was still a dense crowd surrounding them. They were huddled up in a sloppy circle and contemplated what they were going to do.

"I'd say we get the hell outta here! I don't know why, but I have a really bad feeling about this place!" Tomo yelled over the noise.

"And where should we go then? I don't think it would be safer anywhere else in the city," Yomi shouted back.

"I don't know! Maybe we need to get out of the city! All these tall buildings are freaking me out!"

"Tomo-chan is right!" Osaka spoke up. "I don't like all these scryscrapers, they make me nervous."

"Right, fine then. Does anyone have any ideas?" Yomi asked the group.

"I do...," Sakaki announced while raising her hand. "There's a spot not too far from where I live. It should be safe there."

"Sounds good enough for me, let's get going!" Tomo said.

The group nodded in agreement and was about to move on, but Chiyo pulled on Nyamo's sleeve and pointed further into the park.

"Kurosawa-sensei, isn't that Kimura-sensei back there?"

Indeed, leaning with his back against a tree, Kimura was staring at the starry skies, mouth wide open like usual. Apparently, he didn't notice the girls and his colleagues, since he just continued to stare into nothingness. For once, he wasn't wearing his trademark uniform, but just a black shirt and blue trousers.

"You're right! That's him alright...," Nyamo answered.

"Great, that's all we need. Another natural disaster," Kaorin commented hatefully.

"Kaori! That's not very nice you know!" the gym teacher barked.

"His wife and daughter aren't with him...," Yomi muttered. "You think something happened to them?"

Nyamo stepped forward and walked towards him. "I'll go talk to him."

When Nyamo neared him, it was still simply impossible to tell what he was thinking. His glasses obstructed any emotion he might have had, but there was something that gave him away. The glossy streams on his face confirmed that he had been, or still was crying. Nyamo gulped and approached him.

"Kimura-san?"

He slowly and choppily turned his head.

"Oh...Kurosawa-san, you're here too?"

His voice was just as emotionless and bland as ever, but Nyamo couldn't be fooled.

"Yeah, we all are... Are you alright?"

"I'm...fine...I think..."

"Where are your wife and daughter? They're okay, right?"

After this question, there was a long and awkward silence. Nyamo could expect the worst answer.

"You know how they say 'you never know what you have...until it's gone'?"

Nyamo turned her vision to the ground and bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry..."

"I was going out for a midnight walk, just because I wanted to. It's something I do every now and then you know?"

Nyamo simply nodded.

"Then suddenly, the ground started shaking. Everything around me started falling apart. I hurried home to see if they were alright, but...there was...nothing left..."

A tear emerged from beneath his glasses, and Nyamo held her breath, preparing for his massive meltdown.

"They told me to come here, not because I wanted to, but because they made me. The least I could do was pray and look up to Heaven...since they just have to be there right now."

Nyamo was affected by his words. She never saw his wife that many times, but she immediately noticed that she was a very kind and caring person, always looking after her husband. She truly was an angel, and Nyamo had to admit that she never really knew what she saw in Kimura. But now she did. Judging by the genuine tears running down his face, he loved and cared for her and his daughter just as much as she loved and cared for him. She felt like she had to do something for him, even if it was just something small.

"You don't have to stay here all by yourself. The rest of us are going to a safer spot, would you like to come with us?"

Nyamo knew that the others may not be too happy with this decision, but they'd just have to go with it. She just did what she felt was right.

"Oh, she's coming back! And...she's taking him with her..." Tomo cried out.

"She what?!" Kaorin snapped.

"May I have your attention please? Repeat, may I have your attention! This is an emergency!"

The group, as well as everyone else in the park turned their heads to the resonating loud voice coming from the street. A policecar with a large megaphone stood parked on the kurb, the officer still inside the car.

"We are evacuating the vicinity of Shinjuku Central Park. Everybody please stay calm and move to another area in an orderly fashion. I repeat, we are evacuating the Central Park and its vicinity. Please move to another safe area immediately."

It funny, but even when they tell people to stay calm, whenever an announcement like that happens, people always lose their minds and try to squeeze themselves out like a bunch of panicking rodents. The crowd didn't calmly walk out, they all started running and pushing eachother like one big moshpit. But the panic wasn't complete just yet. When something happened that was completely unexpected to anyone, the real panic broke out.

Out of nowhere, a series of terrifying, loud blasts occured further up the street, starting from the north, and making its way down south. The blasts sounded in intervals of about 1 second, and everytime one happened, a plate like object was catapulted dozens of feet in the air. One of the objects came down in the crowd, falling directly on top of a very unfortunate citizen. The girls saw it happen, and they saw what it was. It was a heavy, steel manhole lid. The blasts didn't stop coming, and a earpiercing whistling was in the air, much like that of a singing teakettle, but many times louder and more powerful. The policecar, parked directly above one of the manholes, was launched up with incredible force by something that looked like steam shooting out of the hole. It made several barrel rolls in the air before crashing down in the middle of the street upside down. People, both in the park and on the road were now hysterical, running away wildly and aimlessly. In the midst of it all, the group, now up to ten, tried to stick together and face the flow of the crowd. All of a sudden, many black smoldering rocks came raining down from the sky like thick chunks of hail, knocking out some of the people that were trying to get away. Some shouted that it was the end of the world, and it sure looked like it. Tomo, Yomi and Osaka covered their heads and kneeled down on the ground.

"What the hell is going on!!!" Tomo shouted.

"I don't know, just stay down!" the bewildered Yomi shouted back.

"It's hot! It's really hot!" Osaka wailed.

Sakaki covered little Chiyo from the smoking debris, her back getting punished by blazing stabs. Kaorin ran towards one of the trees to seek refuge. But she didn't even make it there or a big chunk crashed down right in front of her feet. It was at least 6 inches in diameter and giving off a red hot glow. If this had hit her on the head, she would have been killed instantly. Yukari and Nyamo had found shelter under another tree, but the branches couldn't hold back the heavier chunks. A lump the size of a human's head broke through the branches and sent them on their way down. Some of them landed on the two adults, but the rock luckily missed them, if only by an inch.

"Son of a bitch! What are these things!"

Both Kagura and Kimura were laying flat down on the ground, only their hands protecting the back of their head. Seconds long, they were pelleted with the small hot pebbles, burning holes through or charring their clothes. After she couldn't feel anything falling down anymore, Kagura slowly stood up and looked around. She was startled by a loud thunder like sound and many flashes litting up the area. If her own eyes hadn't seen it, she would never have believed it.

"Oh my God! Look at that!" she yelled petrified.

From behind the Kumano-Jinja shrine, a thick, frightening black smoke poured out of the surface of the soil with powerful shocks and bursts. In the smoke, electric discharges were clearly visible, creating lightning and loud thunderclaps. It was a spectacle that none of them had ever seen before, and they couldn't do or say anything but stare at it with their mouths wide open. Now that most of the cowering people had left the vicinity, the chaos became clear. Cars had crashed into eachother and injured people were laying on or next to the road, either screaming in pain or unconscious, left behind by the ones that were only interested in saving their own hides. Only some people were helping eachother out like they were supposed to. Nyamo didn't hesitate and ran up to the toppled over police car. All the windows were shattered and the officer was motionless with a bleeding gash on his head. She tried to open the door, but it was jammed.

"Dammit! Don't just stand there, come help out a little!" she yelled to the rest.

Truly, most of the girls were scared out of their minds, and more than anything, they wanted to flee just like the other people. Yomi heard her conscience speaking and dashed forward.

"Come on!"

"Hey, what are you doing Yomi?" Tomo yelled.

Yomi stopped and turned her head. "What does it look like? Helping these people instead of running off like a coward!"

Without waiting for a response, she ran off again, much to Tomo's frustration. Sakaki's face was pale and clearly freaked out. She was deadly afraid of the black thundercloud-like smoke pouring out of the ground, but she knew she had to, her conscience told her to. She swallowed and followed Yomi with a fast pace. Kaorin, who vowed to herself not to leave her secret lover's side, chased her only a second later.

"Goddammit! Now I know you're completely nuts Nyamo!" Yukari cussed, and started her pursuit.

"You people are all crazy you know that?! Do you wanna get yourselves killed?" Tomo shouted. She clenched her fist and sighed deeply. "Dammit!"

She couldn't do anything else but give in to the situation and started running too. Kagura, Chiyo, Osaka and Kimura followed her close behind. She was only hoping that it wouldn't get any worse, but she regretted that thought immediately afterwards.

Suddenly, a loud bang coming from the source of the smoke and a sharp whistling cutting through the air. Nyamo glanced up and saw a trail of orange glow shooting through the sky and heading for the park. The only thing she could compare it with at the moment was a small meteorite. Tomo looked up in fear as she saw the fireball heading right towards her.

"Tomo! Look out!"

Tomo was tackled from behind and fell to the grass face down, the body of whoever pushed her out of the way laying down on top of her. The ball crashed down with a loud splat and dispersed into a small pool of flames like a molotov cocktail. Kagura crawled off Tomo and layed beside her, staring at what was left of the object. Tomo sat herself straight and joined in. There was too much fire to see what it was, but it must have been partly liquid.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine... Thanks Kagura..."

"Wha...what is this thing?" Chiyo cried.

"A fireball! There's fire coming from the sky!" said Osaka.

Kimura slowly creeped in for a better look. "No. I saw this thing coming from behind the temple, from where that smoke is coming!"

Without a warning, two more of them were launched, one of them being a lot bigger than the first. This time however, they looked like they were going to hit the buildings. Yomi, Sakaki and Kaorin stared in total awe when the largest of the two crashed into one of the scyscrapers, blew up violently and set several floors ablaze. Windows shattered into tiny sharp pieces and fire bursted out of practically every opening. The smaller one landed near the corner of the street next to a signpost, throwing it several meters away. People that were still there now ran for their lives, avoiding the burning debris crashing down.

"No way! Did you see that?" Yomi said, still gawking at the burning building.

"Unreal! This has to be some kind of bad dream!" Kaorin weeped.

Yukari got into second gear and ran past the three girls. "Come on, stop standing around! Let's do our hero things and get outta here!"

Nyamo was still trying to force open the busted car door, but it was too contorted to move. A voice coming from the inside of the car caught her attention.

"Come in Miyamoto-san! Are you there? What the hell is going on?! Miyamoto-san, reply!"

_The radio! It's still working!_

Nyamo reached into the car through the broken window, careful not to cut herself. She found the microphone on the ceiling of the car, right next to the officer's head. She pushed and held the button and hesitantly answered.

"H-hello?"

"Hello? Who is this?!"

"This is Kurosawa Minamo. The police car is upside down and officer Miyamoto is unconscious."

"Unconscious? What happened?"

Nyamo searched for words to explain everything that was going on around her. She remained quiet and stuttered something incoherently.

"Kurosawa-san! What the hell is going on over there!"

"I...I-I-I don't know! There's steam shooting out of the manholes, and there's a...a black electrostatic smoke coming from behind the Kumano-Jinja shrine!"

"Steam and a black smoke?!"

"That's not all! There's something like meteorites coming from the smoke. A building not too far from me is on fire, as well as the corner of the street!"

"Is this some kind of joke? Meteorites?!"

"I know it sounds completely rediculous, but it's true, I swear!"

"Where exactly are you Kurosawa-san?"

"Ehh...We...West side of Shinjuku Central park, on Junisha Dori!"

"Alright."

"Please, we need firetrucks and ambulances! There's many people on the street who are hurt! Huh...?"

Nyamo looked up. She couldn't believe it, but it actually looked like it was snowing. Flakes slowly twirled down from the sky, and one of them landed next to her nose. She picked it off with her finger and rubbed it with her thumb. It fell apart into a grew, fine powder.

"Ashes..."

"What was that?" the voice sounded through the radio.

"There's...there's ashes falling from the sky now..."

"Ashes?!"

"It's true sir, we're getting in similar reports from all over the city!" another voice sounded.

"... Okay, Kurosawa-san, we're sending in help. Stay with us as long as you can alright?"

"Okay...," she answered shakily.

Osaka looked at the flakes quickly piling up over her body in confusion. "It's snowing? But it feels too warm for snow, and it's summer..."

"This isn't snow, it's ashes I think...," Tomo mused.

"So, where is it coming from?" Kagura asked while looking up.

They didn't have the time to ponder about it, because another fireball was fired into the air. It flew like a shooting star and with a deafening whistle. Everyone followed the object with their eyes and watched it land directly on top of a car, making it explode in a sea of flames.

Sakaki ran to the side of a crashed car and saw that there were two people in it. A man and a woman around the age of 30, both with headwounds. She opened the door, but unfortunately, she was only able to use her left arm, since the right one was broken.

"Kaorin, give me a hand!"

Kaorin nodded and gently helped Sakaki drag the wounded man onto the street. He had apparently hit his head on the steering wheel, but he was still alive. Yomi took care of the woman on the passenger side. She held her finger on her neck, but she didn't feel a pulse, not even a weak one. The woman had several shards of broken glass stuck in her face when the window imploded, and she didn't survive when her head bashed into the dashboard. She probably had a severe skullfracture, and looked like she died on impact. Her face and chest were completely coloured red with blood.

"Dammit... She's dead..."

Kagura kneeled down by an unconscious man and wiped the piling ashes off him. She followed the basic procedure and placed her finger on his neck. There was a steady pulse, but he appeared to have been hit on the head by one of the rocks.

"Sir! Sir! Wake up!"

She was answered by dry and heavy cough, followed by an incoherent rambling.

"Don't worry sir, help is on the way!"

_I hope..._

"Wh...whe...where's my wife..."

Kagura barely made that out, but she had no idea what to answer.

"Your wife?"

The man sputtered and hacked. "Sh...she was in the car... I...got out to...ask som..."

His voice was cut off and couldn't make it through, but Kagura had heard enough. She looked around and saw Tomo standing next to a parked car, kneeling down to another body.

"Hang on, I'll be right back..."

She jumped up and ran to Tomo. She saw that the body was indeed a woman, so it must have been that man's wife.

"Tomo-chan, is she alright?"

Tomo let her head hang and shook negatively. "No pulse..."

When she saw her husband being hit on the head, she most likely ran out of the car to help him. Kagura could tell because the car door was left open, and Tomo never opened it herself. How she really died was impossible to tell. She could have been hit by one of the rocks, or she could have been ran over by another car. But now Kagura was going to have to break the news to him, but she had no idea what to say to him. Slowly, she walked back to the older man, who was still frantically coughing.

"Ehh...sir? I ehhh...I don't know how to tell you this but..."

"Sh...she's...gone... Isn't she?"

Kagura should have known. The way she started the conversation had bad news written all over it. So much that even the biggest simpleton could get the message beforehand. She kicked herself mentally and a tear escaped from her eye.

"I'm sorry..."

Finally, some hope arrived, as the sound of sirens came from the distance and closed in quickly. Coming from around the corner of the street were two firetrucks, closely followed by two ambulances. Yukari, who was helping up a wounded woman, saw them coming right for them, and smiled in relief.

"Alright, they're here! Guess our job here is done!"

But it wasn't over yet. Coming from behind her, a loud bang, and another one, and another one, all following up very closely. The whistling sounded like an enormous fireworks show, and at least five more fireballs were flying through the air, all scattered around. One of them landed in the park, setting many of the dry trees ablaze. Another one crashed on top of a building, exploding and setting the roof and a billboard on heavy fire. The third crashed into a smaller building, making it blow up and turn into an inferno. The fourth bashed onto the bonnet of a car, flipping it up and landing it on its roof. And the fifth crashed directly onto the first speeding firetruck. The vehicle lost all control over the road and slipped to the left and right repeatedly, until it couldn't stay on its wheels any longer. One of the two firemen was tossed out of the front window the moment it touched the ground, and the truck rolled over the street several times, directly towards Yukari. She didn't have much time to react, so she pushed the woman out of the way quickly, right before the truck almost came to a standstill in front of her, on its roof and leaning at her dangerously. Yukari took this last chance to get out from under it and took a few quick steps back and turned around. Unfortunately, she was too late.

Nyamo stared in horror when she saw the firetruck toppling over on its side and crushing Yukari's legs. The crack was so nasty and loud that she could hear it over the roaring noise of the fire and steam.

"Oh my God! Yukari!"

She let the microphone drop to the ground and ran over to her. Yukari was screaming in agony and her upper body squirmed in an attempt to pull herself out. Nyamo crouched down and held her hand.

"Yukari! Oh God! Somebody help!"

"Ahh... My...my legs, I can't feel my legs!" Yukari whimpered.

"Don't talk... We'll get this off you, I promise!" Nyamo said with tears in her eyes.

Kimura, Osaka and Chiyo came running from the other side of the truck. They were shocked to see Yukari in her position.

"Yukari-sensei!" Osaka and Chiyo yelled in unison.

Yukari sputtered and coughed up a large amount of blood. Her lower body starting from the stomach area was completely pinned down. There was even some blood oozing out from underneath the vehicle. The fireman that didn't get tossed out was still in the cockpit. His head was smacked against the windshield and steering wheel, but he was still a bit conscious.

The firetruck itself was demolished beyond use, so there was only one left. The other one pulled over and the men came rushing out.

"Oh shit! Did you see that?" one of them yelled.

"One of our vehicles is down, we need more backup! Yakahama is still inside the downed firetruck and there's a woman trapped under it!" The other shouted in his radio. "Dammit! We need to clear this area, get these people out of here!"

Nyamo and the others were ordered to clear the way while they attempted to get Yukari out. Nyamo told her to stay strong and ran back to the policecar. She picked up the microphone and held the button down.

"Hello?"

"Kurosawa-san, where were you!"

"One of the firetrucks got hit by a fireball and is destroyed, and my friend got crushed by it! We need more help, there's too many fires and injured!"

Nyamo could barely even hear herself anymore. There was now a heavy droning that gradually got louder.

"Don't worry, there's more help on the way. Has the situation changed?"

"What?"

"I asked if the situation has changed!"

"Not really, but it's becoming harder and harder to hear anything! There's a lot of noise, a heavy roaring, and it's getting louder and louder! I can't even hear myself anymore. It's extremely hot here, and it's like everything beneath our feet is on fire!"

Suddenly, the loud noise that filled the athmosphere toned down immensly. The crackling of the fire and the people around were the only things that were still hearable, but for the rest, it turned silent. Nyamo stopped her yelling in the microphone and started looking around confused.

"Kurosawa-san? Are you still there?"

Sakaki, Kaorin and Yomi looked up from the wounded man before them and, like Nyamo, looked around puzzled.

"Are you guys feeling that too?" Yomi questioned.

Tomo and Kagura were standing on the sidewalk to make way for the medics. They too didn't understand what was going on, but slowly and very steadily, a humming sound rose up from the ground. They were truly scared stiff at what was going to happen now.

Chiyo, Osaka and Kimura had heard the humming too, but also felt a rumble rising up. The humming evolved into a monstrous roar, and very soon after, the earth started shaking around violently. Buildings once again swayed and the ground made breaking and cracking sounds. Everyone tried to keep their ballance by holding onto something, or by holding on to one another. When the roar and quake reached their peaks, an incredibly powerful and loud explosion occured from where the black smoke was coming. The shockwave of the blast blew the temples to bits, launching the rubble all over the place. Tomo and Kagura took cover behind one of the cars they were standing close to, the planks and chunks of concrete pummeling down on the bodywork and windows. When the shower of debris was over, they slowly walked from behind the car and witnessed what they would never have expected to see in their whole lives.

"No way..." the sporty one gasped with eyes wide open.

"No God Damn way...!" Tomo added with the same expression.

Yomi took off her glasses and blinked in amazement. The immense heat stroked her face and made the sweat break out of her pores. She could only utter a few words.

"What in the world..."

Kaorin stared in utter disbelief and grabbed Sakaki by her good arm in fear. The taller girl stood with her mouth wide open. Just when she thought she had seen everything...

Chiyo and Osaka shared the same emotions as everyone else. They stood there terrified and gawking at the unbelieveble sight.

"Osaka-san,...you were...right..."

"B...but you said it was impossible..."

Kimura stood a few feet away from the two girls. He adjusted his glasses and wiped off the condensation.

"Nothing...is impossible," he muttered to himself.

Nyamo slowly pushed herself up from behind the policecar. Her jaw could have dropped to the floor and her eyes could have popped out of her sockets. Her eyes were constantly fixated on what was right before her. With shaking hands and a trembling lip, she brought the microphone to her mouth.

"Kurosawa-san! Are you still there? What the hell is going on?!"

"Y...yes, I'm here! B-b-but I'm not sure how I should describe this..."

* * *

Wata : Alright, let's get straight to business. By now, it should be clear what the crossover is. If not, you've obviously never seen it. All the clues are there, so if you still don't know, THINK! XD (Or wait for the next chapter). I also want to apologize to some people (don't worry, it's nothing serious XD)

Firstly, I wanna apologize to all the rabid Toyomi fans out there. I'm sooorryyyyy D8. It's clear that I'm pairing Tomo with Kagura. Why? Not because I don't like the Toyomi pairing (on the contrary, I'm a big fan of it), but because TomoxKagura is one that I feel compelled to do. I didn't exactly plan it out first, but seeing the flow of the story now, it seemed like the best chance to go for it. Besides, there's already plenty of Toyomi fanfics out there, and this one is a totally unsaturated market so to speak =p. If it felt forced, it could be, I hear ya XD.

Secondly, to all the "scientifically correct" people who are feeling the need to criticize me because something like this couldn't possibly happen, don't! I'm sorry! XD If you know that much about science, you probably know where this is going at. I know something like this can't happen (okay, actually, I don't. Enlighten me! Oo), but keep in mind that this is a crossover. I'm merely using the elements from that...thing... It wouldn't be a crossover if I didn't do that now would it?

Kagura : Here's a hint! It starts with a V!

Wata : No! Don't! They can figure it out by themselves!

Tomo : O

Wata : Argh! Stop it!

Osaka : L

Wata : Okay, that's enough! I'm cutting off the author's notes! Sayonara mina-san!

Yomi : C


	5. River Of Fire

_*grumble* sorry it took so long..._

_Anyway, Chapter 5, ready for blastoff!_

_It's...a lot shorter than the last...sorry T-T_

_Still, it's not small either, but then again, it took me longer than usual...sooorrryyyyy~ T^T_

_Pardon my insecurity (it might suck too), hope you enjoy it! Make sure you R&R!_

* * *

Chapter 5 : River Of Fire

All over the world, the earthquake that hit Tokyo was big news. Reports were broadcasted and people were chained to their screens, especially in the regions around the Japanese capital, if they were still awake on such a late hour. Many other countries were already making plans for relief funds, special support and sending supplies to the disaster zone. Many people lost their lives, were severely injured or were rendered homeless. Many people were shocked to hear of the sudden catastrophe, and didn't hesitate to show their support. But then came a special report, one that got the warning that it might be disturbing to some. They also assured that all the footage that was about to be shown was genuine, and was in no way altered.

"We bring you this breaking news report from Shinjuku Central Park, Tokyo. The footage you are seeing now was filmed only a few minutes ago, not too far from the Kimano-Jinja shrine. As you can see, there is a plume of black smoke coming from behind the temples, and steam coming out of the manholes. Next, a ball of fire is seen shooting through the air and crashing into a building, turning it into a sea of flames. When we look at the end of the footage, we can see another earthquake happening, followed by a powerfull explosion coming from behind the temples. This is where the footage ends. We hope to be getting a helicopter in the air soon for live footage."

"In response to these strange happenings, experts from the JMA have also reported that the city's water supply is contaminated with sulfur dioxide, and that most of the natural creeks and ponds have acidized. People from around the city have reported that there's a scent of sulfur in the air, as well as strange gasses escaping from the fissures created by the earthquake. The JMA can only come up with one conclusion. Volcanic activity."

_02:32 AM_

"Kurosawa-san! We need to know what's going on! Please reply!"

Nyamo was still speechless. She simply couldn't explain what she was seeing. Everything around the temples was ablaze, including the structures, the trees and even the ground. From the exact same place that the black smoke was coming, a small hill with a crater had formed, and a giant fountain of molten rock spewed out of the hole. The orange, blazing liquid incinerated everything it touched, spilled on the plaza in the center of the demolished temples and slowly swallowed everything that was left. The geyser reached up to 15 meters in the air and was so violent and powerful that it sizzled and roared like a mad beast. The tremendous heat given off made it hard for Nyamo and the others to breathe. Still not believing her own eyes, Nyamo replied in the microphone in a stammering fashion.

"Th...there was a...an earthquake and an explosion, and..."

"We felt that earthquake Kurosawa-san, but what happened?"

"There's... This may sound completely rediculous, but there's lava coming from behind the temples!"

"...could you repeat that please?"

"There's a crater behind the temples, and a fountain of volcanic lava is coming out of it! It's now pouring on the center plaza. There's fire everywhere!"

"You mean like a volcano?"

"Yes!"

--

Tomo and Kagura stared in utter disbelief at the menacing blubber pooling all around the crater, setting everything ablaze that got too close to it. Trees spontaniously combusted and all that was left of the once pittoresque temples were some burning skeletons slowly sinking into the giant puddle.

"Are you seeing this too? Or am I just dreaming."

"No, you're not dreaming. Is that stuff what I think it is?" Kagura responded.

They both snaked their way through the panicking crowd of citizens, medics and firefighters, towards Yomi, Kaorin and Sakaki standing not too far away.

"Guys! What the hell is that?!" Tomo yelled through the noise.

"Isn't that painfully obvious? It's lava!"Yomi yelled back.

"B-But... Doesn't lava only come from a volcano? What's it doing here?" Kagura reasoned.

"Well, then that's a volcano! I don't believe it either, but that's how it is."

"A volcano? In the middle of Tokyo? How is that possible!"

"Well, there you have it..."

"G...guys?! It's coming this way!" said Kaorin.

Indeed, the pool was slowly creeping its way up to the street, ready to head down south, where everyone was standing.

"This street is going downhill. That stuff is coming our way! There's still people who are injured back there!"

"Yomi, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking right?" yelled Tomo.

"Afraid so!"

"Are you nuts?! Are you gonna go near that? That's lava you know, you'll get yourself killed!" Kagura wailed.

"Well those people are gonna die if we don't! Stop being so selfcentered and help out a little! If you're scared, go ahead and run away, but I'm going!"

With that, Yomi ran off, heading towards the boiling liquid, ignoring her own survival instincts. Tomo cussed inarticulately and clenched her fist.

"You moron..."

"Come on Tomo, let's do this. Yomi's right. I think I'd rather die a hero than survive and run away like a coward," Kagura spoke.

"Not exactly a motivational speech Kagura, but I guess you're right. Dammit... I was actually fine with being a coward up until now."

Tomo and Kagura chased Yomi, leaving Sakaki and Kaorin behind. Sakaki hadn't said a single word since the eruption. She was genuinely terrified, and had serious doubts about getting too close to the lava.

"Sakaki-san... What are we going to do?"

Sakaki didn't reply. She just stared at the giant fountain with wide eyes. Suddenly, it was like the volcano twitched and blew another big gush of molten rock up in the air with a frightening hiss. It just kept coming, and coming and showed no sign of stopping whatsoever. On the contrary, it seemed to be getting more fierce by the second. She gawked at this brutal display of nature and was too scared to move.

"Errr...Sakaki-san?"

"Huh? Oh ehh... This man, we have to bring him to one of the ambulances. I need your help, I can't do it alone with this arm."

Kaorin had nearly forgotten about him. He was still unconscious, with some burnwounds, but he was probably going to be fine.

"Yeah, okay."

--

"The lava is now spilling on Junisha Dori and it's going down south!" Nyamo yelled through the radio while wiping away the sweat on her forehead. "It's coming this way! There's still a lot of people injured and unconscious on the streets, and the firetruck is still on its side."

_Dammit...Yukari..._

"Okay, Kurosawa-san, get Miyamoto-san out of the policecar and get out of there. After that, help as many of those people as you can. We're sending more reinforcements your way. Do you copy?"

"Yes, I copy. I'm going now!"

Nyamo threw the microphone to the ground and pulled the car door with all her might. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge, and she surely couldn't open it alone.

"Dammit! Open!" she shouted in frustration.

She turned her head and saw that the lava flow was getting dangerously close. From the surface, bubbles bursted open, and the asphalt in front of it melted within seconds. The heat was so tremendous that she could barely keep her eyes open, so hot that she felt like she was about to melt herself.

Yomi, Kagura and Tomo ran past the downed firetruck and choked when they saw Yukari crushed underneath the firetruck. She was surrounded by firefighters trying to lift the heavy vehicle off her, and a medic was keeping a close eye on her condition. But from what they saw, she really didn't look good at all. Her face was as white as milk, and bloodstains had sunken into the carpet of ashes in front of her. Just a few meters away from her, Chiyo, Osaka and Kimura spectated, all with worried and defeated looks on their faces.

"Oh no...Yukari-sensei!" Yomi uttered.

"We..we have to get her out of there!" Tomo cried.

"Hey, you three! Get over here! Hurry!"

Nyamo's voice was barely audible over the immense ruckus, but managed to grab their attention. They looked behind and saw her signalling to move it. They all looked at Yukari one more time, and then headed her way.

"I need your help! I can't open this door by myself. I need two of you to pull as hard as you can okay?"

Tomo and Kagura agreed, but since there was not enough room on the handle for 4 people, Yomi decided to look for more survivors. She found one, covered in ashes, that was still richly falling from the sky. It was a man, around his twenties, and he was still breathing. With no time to ask him if he was alright, she threw his arm around her shoulder and dragged him away. By now, more ambulanced had arrived, they could take care of him. Meanwhile, Nyamo, Kagura and Tomo used all their might to open the door, but to no avail.

"Argh, it's no use! It's jammed!" Tomo panted.

"Guys, it's getting too close! I feel like I'm burning up!" Kagura gasped.

The lava river was now only a few meters away from the police car, and steadily closing in. They could literally feel the burn.

"Don't give up! We have to open it, he'll die if we don't!"

They once again tried, using every ounce of strenght in their bodies. Finally, the door gave in and flung open, knocking the girls back. Nyamo untied his seatbelt and dragged his motionless body out of the car, then ordered Kagura and Tomo to get him to the nearest ambulance.

"Move you two! I have to go check on Yukari."

A bit later, the lava made contact with the roof of the toppled police car. The bodywork crumpled under the incredible heat and the vehicle was engulfed in flames in seconds. Only some seconds later, the car slowly started sinking into the hot fluid. The gasoline caught fire and the car blew up. Nyamo stared in horror at the vehicle slowly being dragged along with the flow, unrecognisable, nothing more than a black, burning husk.

The fireman that was trapped in the cockpit had been freed in the meantime, but all the attempts to lift the firetruck off Yukari had failed. When Nyamo arrived, the medic shouted something that she didn't want to hear.

"Her pulse is dropping fast! We're losing her!"

Nyamo froze and her eyes started to water. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"No...that can't be!"

Kimura heard it too, and didn't think twice. He ran up to the firetruck and helped the other firefighters to lift it, but even with his help, it didn't move single inch.

"Don't worry Yukari-san, we'll get you out of there... Just hang on!" he cried out.

"The lava is closing in fast! Someone get those kids out of here!" one of the firefighters yelled.

Nyamo looked at Osaka and Chiyo standing at the sidelines, scared out of their wits. She called out to them.

"Chiyo-chan, Osaka-san, you have to go. It's too dangerous here."

"B-but, Yukari-sensei..." Chiyo weeped.

"She is going to be okay is she?" said Osaka.

Nyamo had no idea what to answer her. She wished she could promise them that she would be fine, but she couldn't.

"Listen, go find the other ones. We can't help her to our fullest if we have to worry about you too, do you understand?"

They both nodded with tears in their eyes.

"I promise, we'll do our best. Now go!"

They both glanced at Yukari one more time and ran further down the street, away from the lava. Nyamo jumped up and joined the others with trying to lift the downed firetruck.

"Alright, let's try this one more time! Ready?"

Nyamo used so much force that she felt like her arms were going to burst, but alas, even with all the combined manpower, the truck simply didn't give in a single inch. They needed a miracle, and they needed it fast.

"Damn! It's no use, we can't lift it!" one of the men shouted.

"G...get out of here..."

"What?"

"I said, get out of here!" Yukari repeated.

Nyamo crouched down by her. Her voice was weak, so she had to get closer to hear her.

"What are you saying? We're not leaving you here. We'll get you out of there!"

"B...bullshit, and you know it. There's not enough time, and there's no point anyway."

"Why...?"

"I don't even feel any pain anymore. Didn't you hear the medic? I'm dying Nyamo... I can feel it..." she laughed weakly.

"No..."

Nyamo couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She tried to stay strong, but the thought of losing her best friend made her feel empty inside.

"'Fraid so... It's game over for good ol' Yukari..."

She didn't want to believe it, but Yukari was right. Her face was pale, her eyes were glassy and lifeless, and her breathing was very weak. Nyamo grabbed her by her cold, shaking hand and sobbed silently.

"C...could you...leave us alone for a minute?" she asked the rest.

The firefighters slowly dissapeared from the scene.

"We're sorry ma'am..." one of them spoke up.

Kimura stayed behind a little longer, but ran off too after a few seconds, a look of despair stuck on his face.

"I will miss you, Yukari-san..." he sobbed while running.

Nyamo felt the blazing heat of the lava river slowly crawling up to her, burning into her back. But she didn't care, she just wanted to say goodbye.

"Death by firetruck... Damn... This stinks you know. I would have preferred to die in a more heroic manner..." she sluggishly chuckled.

Yukari slightly tightened her grip on Nyamo's hand, who was trying hard not to burst out crying.

"Don't...don't think I wanted to die... I don't want to, but I...I have no choice..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want you or the kids to get yourselves killed over me...that's all."

Yukari twitched and coughed up another dose of blood on the ground. It was getting harder for her to talk, and her vision slowly started to blur.

"Because...you were always my best friend Nyamo..."

Reality hit Nyamo like a deadly bullet. She bursted out in tears and embraced her friend tightly. Suddenly she realized that she herself was to blame.

"I...I-I'm sorry Yukari! This is all my fault! If I didn't push you on to come help, this would never have happened!" she cried out loud.

"Ah don't give me that. You know it's not your fault. I actually feel good that I managed to save someone... Even if it was just one person..." she sputtered.

"But I couldn't save you!"

Yukari returned the hug with the last bit of strenght she had left in her dying body, and a single tear rolled over her cheek.

"Well, that's the way it is... I'm very happy to have met you..."

"Me too..." Nyamo blubbered.

After a few seconds, Nyamo broke loose from the hug and gently layed Yukari back on the soft carpet of ashes. It was time for her to get going. The lava was getting dangerously close.

"Tell the others...I love them...and that they don't have to feel sad or guilty. Tell them I died with a smile on my face. And if you see that woman, give her my regards, okay?"

Nyamo nodded and wiped the tears off her face.

"Okay..."

"Goodbye my friend..." she faintly smiled.

"Goodbye Yukari... I'll never forget you..."

Reluctantly, Nyamo ran away, glancing at her smile one final time, and headed down south again. Yukari closed her eyes halfway and could only stare at the menacing river steadily crawling towards her. The heat scorched her skin and hair, but she barely felt anything. Her regret was that her body was going to disappear, never to be found again. Also, if she knew that this was going to happen, she would have had a couple more drinks when she still had the time.

"At least...it will be all over before you can reach me. I will not be your victim...you God damn lava!"

Her eyes fell shut, and her final vision was that of all her friends, which made up the best moments of her short life. But most importantly, the last thing she uttered before she disappeared from the realm of the living was the name of the best friend she had ever had.

"Nyamo..."

_02:42 AM_

"Shit!"

Aishi pounded down on his desk with his fist angrily. He had the tv in his shabby office on, and the happenings were all over the news. The images of the the lava fountain and the molten blubber creeping up on the street were too much for even him to handle. Even though he saw it coming, he was still surprised and dumbstruck.

"I never would have expected for it to happen so quickly!" he grunted.

"Unbelievable...!" Keichi gasped. "Is this really happening?"

"No, this is just a movie I popped in. Yeah this is really happening!" Aishi snarled, his voice overflowing with sarcasm. "If you don't believe it, look outside. It's raining ashes, and if you miss the red glow and the smoke in the distance, you need glasses urgently!"

Keichi didn't let it get to him. He knew that if Aishi was stressed out, he easily got pissed off.

"Dammit! There was not enough time to evacuate the Central Park. Just look at how many people are still there! As if the earthquake didn't make enough victims aready."

"What are we going to do Aishi-san?" Keichi hesitantly asked.

"Hell, what can we do. I'm just an old geezer almost ready to retire, and I doubt you would want to go risk you hide out there trying to look for a solution. Besides, that's lava we're dealing with. There's nothing anyone can do about it..."

"Then, you mean..."

"Yeah, we have to continue the evacuation. I don't know where that lava is going, but we have to keep an eye on it. Tell the authorities to clear the area as soon as possible."

"But Aishi, that would come to millions of people! How are they going to pull that off! Besides, there's several hospitals in that street, they can't possibly evacuate all that in such a short time!"

"Well then what are you waiting for?! Call them now! The police, the army, hell, everyone that can help! We need the vicinity clear of all civilians as soon as possible!"

"Yes sir..." Keichi sighed.

Aishi turned his focus on the tv screen again. The live footage was shown through a camera in a helicopter. The panoramic view showed that the temples were completely gone, swallowed by the lava, liquified. The mass wasn't only flowing onto the street, but also spreaded out across the Central Park. The many trees were no obstacles, and were quickly turned into firewood. Everything that the lava had come in contact with was furiously burning, including the buildings and the cars. The image turned to a crashed firetruck, and the river had already reached it, combusting the downside and slowly dragging it along. The flow was diverted slightly, but it wouldn't be long until it found its way around it and swallowed the truck completely.

"This is a nightmare. A God damn nightmare!"

_02:43 AM_

Nyamo stumbled across the warzone. Doctors were treating the wounded and firemen were desperately trying to extinguish the flames coming from the buildings. She didn't know why. As soon as the lava reached this far, everything would burst into flames. Wetting the structures was pointless too. Nyamo looked around, searching for the others, but it was becoming so crowded that it was hard to distinguish anyone. Also, the heavy downpour of ashes, resembling a blizzard, obstructed her view.

"Come on, where are you guys," she softly sniffed.

She could hear the roaring of the flames behind her back, but she didn't want to look, nor did she want to think about it. Yet, it was all that popped up in her head. All the people around her, she was oblivious to them. The only thing she could think about was her best friend that she couldn't save. She felt so powerless, so broken.

"It's not fair dammit..."

She fell to her hands and knees in the middle of the street. A few of her tears landed into the ashes below. She grabbed a handfull of the ashes and wildly threw it upwards as she she cried and sobbed loudly. Her body shocked and the tears of sorrow poured down her face.

"Goodbye...Yukari..."

She silently lisped those last words she said to her. After that, she simply couldn't look back anymore. She could only hope that Yukari had already passed on before the lava reached her, that she didn't get burned alive.

"I'll never forget you..."

--

"She didn't make it did she..."

Kagura had already come up with this conclusion as she saw the particular firetruck being swallowed by the lava flow, slowly sinking while engulfed in fire. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was obvious even when they just looked at her a little while ago. They couldn't believe it; their homeroom teacher for almost 3 years, 2 years for Kagura and Kaorin, and colleague for a few years to Kimura. But most of all, a good friend to all of them.

"Yukari-chan..." Tomo whispered.

Yomi cried bitter tears while trying to comfort a broken Chiyo. Osaka sat next to them on the kurb, both her hands covering her face, hiding her emotions. The only thing that gave her away were the silent whimpers. Kaorin and Sakaki shared the same emotions. Both of them felt crushed. Kimura sat a bit away from the rest, his hands supporting his forehead.

"Do any of you believe in fate?" he suddenly asked, getting the attention from everyone else.

"I don't... You know, you have 2 kinds of people in the world. Those who believe that everything that happens is predestined to happen, and those who think that everything is a coincidence. Yukari sacrificed her life to save that of others. If she had chosen not to do that, she would still be alive...maybe... Is that fate? Or coincidence?"

"But it all comes down to the same thing right? It doesn't matter if it was fate or not, she still died..." Kagura murmured.

"Yes... But everytime something terrible like this happens, people start to wonder about this."

Everyone thought deeply about this. Kimura actually had something deep to say instead of always acting like a pervert.

"Don't worry about Yukari. She's at peace now, somewhere where this disaster can't bother her anymore. Just recently, I started believing in heaven. That's probably where she is going now..."

They all managed to crack a smile at these words, and that was the first time Kimura had managed that. He too had suffered a big loss, he just never says it in those words.

"That's...where my mom and dad are now too, I bet..." Kagura smiled melancholically.

"Kagura..."

Tomo placed her hand on Kagura's shoulder, and got a small smile in return. But the scene was violently interrupted by another bang and a whistle. Another huge ball of fire flew through the air and seemed to be heading directly towards the group. Everyone jumped up from their position and were about to run for it.

"Wait! Watch where it's going to land!" Kimura yelled.

Everyone followed the fireball with their eyes as its trajectory bended down and was about to hit.

"Now, run! Get out of here!"

Everyone swiftly scattered and the ball crashed down almost exactly where they estimated it to; directly on top of a parked car. The car exploded, but the upper side of the ball was still intact. It was dark red, partly liquid, partly solid, and glowed with lava from the inside, sputtering out of the cracks occasionally.

"I know what that is now. That's what they call a lava bomb! Don't run until you know where it's going to land, or else it might come down on top of you" he said.

Everyone took heed to his advice. They wouldn't want to be crushed underneath one of these.

"Hey, are you alright?!" a voice sounded not too far away from them.

It was Nyamo. She finally found them and came running straight at them. It was obvious to everyone that she had been crying.

"Kurosawa-sensei! Yeah, we're fine..." Yomi responded.

"That's good... I don't know how to say this, but..."

"We know... You don't have to say anything..." Tomo said, looking down to the ground.

Nyamo was on the verge of crying again, but held it back this time. She still made a promise to Yukari, and she was determined to fulfill it.

"I...I have to say something, to all of you, a message from Yukari..."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sniffed loudly.

"I have to tell you that...she loves all of you, and she doesn't want you to be sad or feel guilty, and that she...that she died while smiling..."

Nyamo was having a hard time again, but bit her teeth and pushed the tears back. Everyone was touched by this, but there was not much time to mourn. Because still coming straight at them, the still rapidly growing river of lava slowly approached, not giving any sign of stopping. Back at the source, the fountain was still going at it at full force, constantly spewing more and more molten rock in the air. Frighteningly, the lava didn't seem to be coming only onto the streets, but was also forming a sea in the Central Park. Everywhere they looked, there was only red. Fire was literally everywhere, and the temperatures went up to unbearable numbers. The ashes were still falling and forming a thick carpet on the ground, and small fragments of burning rock fell from the sky. Firefighters tried to cool off the glowing liquid by spraying water on it, but those actions were absolutely useless against a muck of over one thousand degrees celsius. If they got too close to it, they would end up dead, without any chance of getting away. Now, with a real volcano directly in the center of Tokyo, it really looked like the downfall of the mighty city was looming right above their heads.

* * *

Wata : Short! But tough as nails! If you don't know what crossover it is now, you'll never know, so I'll just say it. The 1997 movie 'Volcano' of course! (Tommy Lee Jones is awesome! XD) Duh! It was very obvious in the previous chapter, but yeah, you had to have seen the movie. So yeah, a volcano in the middle of Tokyo...seems a bit far fetched, but despite that, hope you're still enjoying it! I put a warning for possible character death in the summary, and Yukari was the first victim... I'm sorry Yukari fans, please don't lynch me! D8

Yukari : As a compensation, I demand that I show up in every chapter's author's notes starting from now!

Wata : Fair enough. Well, you got what you wanted for now. Please bear with me people, I'm trying here! It's not easy ya know! See you next time!


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